On One Way and Another
by raikendai
Summary: imagine juggling high school life and life itself? it's just a game of chance... and if by chance you met the one rightfully meant for you, would you let go? *ON HIATUS
1. the first day

konnichiwa minna-san! i am raikendai, previously starsprinkles... i sorta changed my pen name... teehee! and i'm back with a new fic... i will leave my other fic for a while for i have to come up with new ideas... weeeeeeeee! here's my new fic, on one way and another... enjoy!

disclaimers: i do not own gundam seed... (isn't it obvious!) hehehe

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INTRODUCTION

Athrun Zala, Kira Yamato, Dearka Elthman, Yzak Jule and Nicol Amarfi are childhood friends and are now studying at PLANT's most prestigious school for high school. Athrun was always the introvert and although he would socialize, he's still very quiet and would constantly be found silent in a corner, minding his own business. Kira was the one who's like the ordinary high school kid only that he has much more extraordinary abilities. At times studious, just like any high school boy but focuses more on sports. Dearka on the other hand is like the class clown, always shrugging off formalities for a joke or two. And he's the laziest of the bunch. Yzak however, is the hot-headed frank coordinator who is not afraid to say what's on his mind. Has a tendency to complain much but miraculously obedient to rules. Nicol was the youngest so he's like the one with the most harmonious relationship with everyone. He doesn't like conflicts and he loves music. He's probably the most peace-loving of the five of them.

Growing up in militaristic families, the five of them knew they'd all end up in military academy for college and so be a part of PLANT's army, ZAFT.

Monday morning

The alarm clock beside Kira Yamato's bed has been ringing for the past 30 minutes and still, he was not awaken by the noise. Kira's siste, or should we say twin sister was the one who was awaken by it and not him.

Cagalli, aged 16 was a hot-headed type of girl on the outside but sweet and gentle on the inside although her inside-self couldn't be seen that much. It was the start of a brand new year and Cagalli transferred to Kira's school from her old school in Orb.

"Wake up Kira, remember, you're going to show me around today!" Cagalli said as she sat at the side of Kira's bed.

Kira did not bulge, nor did he seem to have heard what Cagalli just said. Cagalli rolled her eyes and wanted to beat him up but figured that it will only consume much more time if she did.

"I said wake up now sleepyhead! This is no time to doze around, it's the first day of school for pete's sake!" Cagalli said as she slapped Kira's cheek a couple of times.

Kira was now awake and he massaged his already red cheek.

"That hurts, you know…" he mumbled and yawned.

"Yeah yeah, whatever! Just get going now, we'll miss the bus!" Cagalli said, already in uniform.

"What time is it?" Kira asked as he stretched his arms.

"Six thirty" Cagalli replied.

"Six thirty? Six thirty! Man! We should be there by seven!" Kira said, panicking.

"I know, that's why I have been waking you up since six am! Just stop panicking and get ready." Cagalli said and stood up and went outside, closing the door behind her.

It was already a stressing morning and Kira did not want to get into any trouble, just the fact of having his sister with him at the same school made him want to hide from all the other people in school. Not that he is ashamed of Cagalli, it's just that Cagalli's like the big-sister type and she would really scold him big time if he gets into trouble.

Upon arriving in school, he directly left Cagalli and went off to his group of friends.

"See you later sis, I hope you'll find friends!" Kira said as he ran away.

Cagalli just sighed. "Gosh, is this the lifestyle in this school? Try and find friends and if you had a tough luck you're on your own…" she muttered to herself.

She continued to walk until she bumped into a girl who was busy fiddling with her timetable.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" the brown-haired girl said.

"That's okay… are you new around here too?" Cagalli asked, determined to find her first friend that can share with her the lifestyle she described earlier.

"Yeah, I'm Miriallia Haww by the way… I came from Orb." The girl replied.

"From Orb? That's great! I came from there too! But now I'm stuck in this horrid school because of my brother… I'm Cagalli Yula Attha." Cagalli answered.

Miriallia giggled at her statement.

"It's a good thing you already know somebody… but me, I'm a complete outcast!" Miriallia said as she kept her timetable inside her pocket.

"Well you don't have to worry about that now, you got me…" Cagalli said and the two girls laughed a bit.

They started to walk inside the rather big school as they talk about their similarities and differences. They enjoyed each other's company and figured that they will be in the same class. When they found their classroom, it was deserted only that there was a long-haired girl standing beside the window, looking out at the school grounds.

"Oh… hello… I thought I was still alone." The girl said as she turned around.

"Hey… I'm Cagalli… and this is Miriallia… we're new here… nice to meet you." Cagalli said and offered a handshake.

The girl happily shook it and smiled. "I'm Shiho, I'm new too… someone told me this was an all-boy school before and was renovated to be a co-ed school." She said.

"Really? So that means, every girl around here is new!" Miriallia said excitedly.

"Yup… you're so right… I thought no one would even bother to talk to me…" Shiho added.

"Oh we'll talk to you! We belong to the same class… I will be glad if we can be friends." Cagalli said.

"For real? Thanks… I was thinking you'd say that… you think we'll enjoy a year in this school which is practically dominated by boys?" Shiho said as she looked out of the window and back at Cagalli again.

"I'm sure we would… if we could show them that girls are not as weak as they think!" Miriallia said and the two girls nodded in agreement.

They decided to sit together and were chatting out loud until the school bell rang.

"Hey, does that mean classes are going to start?" Cagalli asked.

"Perhaps…" Shiho said.

"Most probably, students are piling up now…" Miriallia said as a group of flirtatious girls entered the room.

They looked at each other with anxiety and all had the same thoughts in mind, this year doesn't seem very good. They dismissed the topic and decided that it's best to just steer-clear of them. Suddenly, Cagalli noticed Kira coming in with his so-called friends.

One had a blonde hair that contrasted his dark skin color, the other a platinum-silver hair, the other one with green hair and the last one, with dark blue hair.

Kira did not seem to notice Cagalli since he was busy talking with the blue haired guy which was undeniably cute.

Suddenly, a girl with metallic-blue hair was approaching them. She looked a bit shy and she occupied the seat next to Miriallia.

"Hello…" Miriallia said and Cagalli and Shiho waved at her.

"Hi… I'm new around here…" the girl said.

"Us too… I'm Miriallia, this is Cagalli and that one's Shiho… and you are?" Miriallia said excitedly.

"I'm Natalie… you can call me Nat… I'm more comfortable with that." She said and smiled.

"Oh that's great! Do you want to join us later for break time?" Cagalli asked as Shiho nodded.

"That would be very kind of you… thanks…" she said.

Kira saw Cagalli and excused himself from the guys. He approached Cagalli and her friends and introduced himself.

"Hey there, I'm Kira, Cagalli's brother… can I talk to her for a moment?" he said and pulled Cagalli off her chair.

"What?" she asked irritated.

"You mean we're in the same class?" Kira asked, outraged.

"As it seems… you have a problem with that?" Cagalli asked sternly.

"Huh? Oh! Absolutely fine with me sis, I am so… uhm… glad that we belong in the same class… just don't go tellin' everybody, okay?" Kira said sweatdropping.

Cagalli stared at him and clearly understood that Kira was a bit ashamed of having his sister in the same class so she formulated a naughty idea to make Kira accept the fact that he has to live with the fact that Cagalli is now his classmate in this school he's so proud of.

Cagalli then smiled slyly and faced her new-found friends.

"Girls, I would like you to meet my twin brother, Kira. Kira, meet my friends!" she said quite loudly.

Kira sweatdropped more and swore this was the day he'll end his high school life forever. Every head turned around and stared at him and his sister, especially the group of flirts and Kira's friends.

"Cagalli I swear I'll kick your butt for this…" he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Really? You've got your bro here, in this same class? Amazing! Nice to meet you Kira." Shiho said and smiled widely.

"Hello" Miriallia and Natalie greeted in unison.

Whispers from the others inside the room emerged. The flirts just stared in dismay and went off with their whispering and Kira's friends were all in shock.

They all came running to where Kira and Cagalli was.

"Kira, you never told us you had a sister!" the blonde one said and patted Kira's back.

"Yeah! Oh and hey, we're his friends, miss… uhm… miss Kira's sister!" Nicol said and waved a bit.

"Uh… she was in Orb and I seemed to have forgotten to mention her… teehee!" Kira said and scratched his head.

Miriallia and Natalie laughed as Shiho interrupted their conversation as a pink-haired shy girl entered the room. The flirts snubbed her and completely ignored her presence. As Cagalli dealt with her twin, Shiho went up to the girl and asked her to sit along with them. The girl was more than delighted to do so and joined their group.

"Hey! Shut up for minute you guys… we have a new friend… she's Lacus Clyne… she's also new…" Shiho said and introduced her.

She greeted them with a warm smile. The girls introduced themselves and Kira's mouth fell open. He was stunned to see such a beautiful creature just right in front of him.

Athrun noticed this and he did the honors in whacking Kira hard on the head to shrug him off his gaze.

"Ow!" Kira yelled and got everyone's attention.

"No need to thank me…" Athrun said and sat down on a chair near him.

It was the first time everybody heard him speak and was the first time that Cagalli really looked at him directly.

"Gosh… he's hot! No… no! This is the first day of school and I am not supposed to go on having crushes and checking out guys!" she thought to herself.

Natalie noticed that her friend was feeling a bit uneasy.

"Hey… you okay?" she asked Cagalli.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure I'm fine… I just… oh nothing… don't mind me." Cagalli said and went back to Kira.

Kira was trying to shoo his friends away, although only two of them are totally interested, the blue-haired guy and the silver-haired snob didn't seem to care at all.

"Okay! She's my twin! You happy?" Kira blurted out.

"Ooh… now that's uncalled for… the great Yamato has a twin! Just wait till the whole school hears about this." The blonde dark guy said.

Kira shot him ultimate death glares so the guy stopped. The other two who remained utterly silent pulled the other two who spoke a lot out of the way.

"Let's go you guys, you shouldn't go around making trouble… and you better set a good example at girls." The blue-haired guy said again.

"And please… can you just shut up for a moment?" the snobby silver-haired guy said, irritably.

The other two cannot do anything but to follow. Kira realized that it was really wrong to have denied he had a twin and was feeling guilty so he apologized to Cagalli. Cagalli accepted it and Kira went back to his group of friends. Moments later, the classroom was almost full and when it was, the teacher came in.

The teacher cleared his throat and motioned for everybody to settle down. All the students obliged and silence emerged.

"Okay… if you still don't know which class you belong to, you belong to class 31A. And I am your adviser, Mr. Mwu La Flaga. I am surprised to see a bunch of girls here in my class for as you all know, this school was previously exclusive for boys." He said for an introduction.

"I smell gender-discrimination coming up…" Shiho muttered under her breath.

"I agree" Cagalli mumbled to Shiho.

Mr. La Flaga smiled and scanned the people for some familiar faces.

"So… I will be holding your math classes… and in case you haven't checked it out, your timetables were handed out near the school entrance, just get it from there if you don't have it yet." He continued.

The class just stared at him wide-eyed. Not a single utterance. He figured out he needed to liven up the atmosphere and so he proceeded.

"I think we better get acquainted with one another, don't you think?" he said.

Once again, the class just looked at him blankly, indicating that they did not understand a thing.

"What I mean was I will call you one by one and you'll introduce yourselves…" he said and smiled, he was a bit giddy and happy about it.

The class was dumbfounded. Some have their mouth open in confusion and some raised a brow on him.

"Uh… sir? Isn't that… for elementary school?" one of the flirts said and she really had the nerve to do so.

"Yeah… I know… but it's worth doing so… and I'll be glad if you'll go first!" Mr. La Flaga replied and the girl had no choice but to oblige.

The girl stood up and for the first time, everyone got a full view of her. Her hair was a bit reddish pink and she had a clip on her hair, more of the one Lacus was wearing. Everyone was astonished for she does look a lot like Lacus. Even Lacus cannot believe her eyes.

"How come she looks like me? As far as I remember I don't have a twin of some sort…" Lacus said, still looking directly at the girl standing beside Mr. La Flaga.

"I'm getting goosebumps…" Miriallia said.

The girl looked at Lacus and she smiled as if she did not notice a thing.

"Hi, I'm Mia Campbell… and I know I look like that girl so stop giving me those stares!" she said nastily and went straight back to her seat.

"Harsh… the nerve…" Dearka muttered disapprovingly, getting nods of agreement from the others.

"Perhaps you want to go next?" Mr. La Flaga said to Dearka.

Dearka followed and stood in front. He looked at everybody and smiled.

"I'm Dearka Elthman" he said and went back to his seat.

Some giggled and some just laughed at his cocky attitude. The rest waited for their turns.

"I'm Lacus Clyne… uhm… nice to meet you all…" Lacus said pleasantly.

"I'm Lacus Clyne… blah blah blah!" Mia repeated in a girly voice. Her friends burst in laughter. Shiho and Cagalli exchange looks of extreme rage.

Lacus just smiled. She figured out that at some point, that girl just has her own problem that Lacus did not want to take part of.

"What's your problem?" Mr. La Flaga said to Mia. "Your classmate is introducing herself, I guess it's just right to show some respect. If you can't do that then I'd probably be sending you out now."

Mia was perplexed and shut her mouth and so did her posse. Shiho and Cagalli smiled triumphantly and Lacus went back to her seat.

Then after a while it was Yzak's turn. He stood up from his chair, not looking at anyone but the floor he walked on and went in front. He kept his hands inside his pocket and when he looked up, his blue eyes darted from side to side and he glared at the group of flirts.

"Gosh he's gorgeous!" one of them said.

"Duh… he glared at you for pete's sake!" Dearka said and everybody laughed heartily, including Mr. La Flaga.

The girl looked crestfallen but did not argue with Dearka.

"I am Yzak Jule. I hate social climbers, plastics and definitely flirts. I just hate them." He said and went back to his seat.

The class gave him a warm applause except for the self-confessed flirts. Shiho, who was looking at Yzak and listening intently, was overtaken by his statement and she decided she idolized the guy. Mr. La Flaga motioned to Athrun to stand up for his turn. Athrun rolled his eyes and lazily walked up to Mr. La Flaga. Cagalli felt her cheeks burn and hid it.

"My name's Athrun Zala. Just don't bug me and we'll be in good terms." He said calmly and went back to his seat. The girls' eyes followed his every move like glue and sighed.

Athrun looked at them blankly and then glared. All the girls looked the other way in an instant.

Mr. La Flaga called Cagalli to speak in front and she did as she was told.

"I'm Cagalli Yula Attha… just don't get on my nerves. I hate injustice and I defend what I think is right. And by the way, I'm his twin." She said and pointed to Kira who just smiled and shrugged.

"YOU'RE TWINS?" Kira's friends said in unison with Cagalli's.

Kira scratched his head and Cagalli grinned and went back to his seat. Shiho was supposed to be next.

"I'm Shiho Hahnenfuss… for those who love to ruin everything and everybody, get a life and get off mine." She said and went back to her seat as she gave a high five to Cagalli.

Miriallia, Kira, Nicol already got their turn and they cracked some jokes that entertained the class. Up next was Natalie.

"My name's Natalie Ishigami… uhm…" she said and smiled then she shrugged. The class laughed a bit, she was too shy to speak up.

The rest took their turns and when everybody was done, Mr. La Flaga took the limelight again.

"There you have it… some revelations from your classmates… I just hope it's a start for you to try to get to know each other better. So… I'll give you a thirty-minute break and afterwards, we're electing class officers." He said and motioned for the class to exit the room.

Kira exited with his friends, Nicol was looking at Natalie when she looked at him too. He blushed a bit and tried his best to smile. Natalie was puzzled but nevertheless she smiled back at him and he went outside.

"I see someone here's smilin' at someone…" Miriallia teased her.

"Really? Hmmm… lemme guess… Nicol Amarfi, is it Natalie?" Lacus rubbed in.

"Oh my gosh! You like him!" Cagalli said and shrieked.

"Girls, you're getting it all wrong! I don't even know him yet! He just smiled so I smiled back! What's so wrong with that?" Natalie retorted.

"No, nothing's wrong honey… it's just that… we bet he has a crush on you!" Shiho said.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Whatever… having crushes on the first day of school is like… out of this world!"

They walked out of the room together and proceeded to the cafeteria to buy some snacks. They sat on a table which is not very far away from Kira and the others' table. Kira waved at his sister and Cagalli acknowledged him but did not bother to speak up since she's too hungry.

Suddenly, Mia Campbell, the bth approached them, wearing the most plastic smile ever as her followers stood behind her.

"What do you want?" Cagalli asked sternly, glaring at her.

"Oh, don't glare at me like that… I mean no harm…" she said, playing innocent.

Lacus did not mind her; she just continued to eat her sandwich and pretended that Mia doesn't exist. Cagalli and the others were the ones concerned about the situation and Lacus chose to let them do the job.

"I just want to uhm… apologize to you, Lacus, for what I said earlier… I was just carried away." She paused for a while; Lacus was pretending that she doesn't exist. "I hope that'll do… and I just want to inform you that you can vote for me as class president later, feel free to do so!"

The five girls looked as if they just got struck by lightning. Miriallia's brow was twitching violently as she struggled not to throw her water glass to Mia's face.

"Dream on, no one in the right mind would ever do that." Shiho said simply.

"Girls, don't pick a fight with them…" Lacus said, restraining the argument.

"Aww… what an angel you are Lacus…" Mia said sarcastically.

"Look Mia, I am not taking your side. I am just trying to stop my friends from engaging in a fight with you for you are one evil lady and you should not be pondered at." Lacus said and stood up so that she and Mia were level with each other.

Not far behind, the boys were concerned about the scene so Kira stood up and went to their table. Athrun followed closely.

"Stop this nonsense Mia." Kira said heatedly.

"Oh I'm not doing anything wrong… it's them who's picking a fight… oh, hello there Athrun." She said and smiled at Athrun.

"Cut that out, you're not cute and don't try to be. Stop pestering these girls." He said firmly.

Mia still smiled, although her smile was convulsing at the end of her lips. She snapped and her posse followed her out of the cafeteria. Nicol came running along with the other two.

"Don't mind them sis, they're just jealous." Kira said.

"Nah, I'd say she's so vain!" Cagalli said as she did a Mia impersonation.

Everyone laughed at her impressive impersonation, even Lacus who was just out of the mood managed to laugh. For the first time, she caught Athrun's eye Athrun looked at her and looked down then smiled. He scratched his ear and looked at her again.

Natalie saw it and giggled. "Shy guy…"

Cagalli just pretended not to hear it. After a few moments, the boys left the cafeteria and went to their classroom. The girls were left there.

"Did you see that? Athrun smiled at Cagalli!" Natalie said dreamily.

"He smiled at the floor doodlebrain…" Cagalli muttered as she munched on her remaining cookies.

"Oh no… maybe he's just shy!" Lacus said and clapped her hands in excitement.

Cagalli stuck her tongue out at them. "You know, we should go now… we'll be late for class!" she said and stood up while wiping her lips with her hanky.

They went inside the classroom closely followed by Mr. La Flaga. The moment he got in, he placed his stuff on his desk and grabbed a chalk.

"Settle down class… I have an announcement. This year is very important since it will be our school's 50th anniversary. And the moment we elect the class officers, they will attend a seminar for the student council election. Those council members will be the representative of the student body for the organization of the occasion. So we better start electing now…" he said and scanned his record book.

Many whispers emerged and Mia was clearly holding up a campaign for class president.

"Oh no, there's no way that girl will be the class president…" Miriallia said, with her eyebrow raised.

"Listen girls, if you want to have a suitable representative for this class, elect someone who will fit the job." Yzak said mockingly at the girls, looking at Mia with extreme dislike.

"Look boy, you don't care…" Mia shot back at him who completely ignored her.

"So, I declare the table for nominations of class president is open!" Mr. La Flaga said.

It was a complete drag. Mia argued with every attempt to snag the position from her but the nominees were lowered down to four. Dearka nominated Kira, Nicol nominated Athrun, a flirt nominated Mia and Lacus nominated Cagalli.

By the end of the tallying…

"Uh… me?" Cagalli said, seeing her votes. She was voted by the majority.

Mr. La Flaga was quite impressed. "I hope your reign will be meaningful, good luck to you Cagalli." He said and smiled.

Cagalli felt her knees turn to jelly. "You won! I'm so good… you beat that girl!" Lacus said happily.

"Even the boys voted for you… even your twin!" Shiho said.

Cagalli couldn't speak. The election proceeded. By the end of the long run, Mia didn't bag a position and so ended up in tears. Kira was vice president, Lacus was secretary, Athrun and was the treasurer, Dearka was the P.R.O.

Mr. La Flaga was disturbed by Mia's howls and found it irritating. "Fine, make that diva the muse of this class…" he said.

The class was in an uproar. Some refused but some agreed. But in the end, it was the only way to make Mia stop. Mr. La Flaga announced that he was to have a meeting with the school director, Mr. Dullindal and that he had to dismiss the class early. The students were more than happy and did so.

Shiho and Milly needed to go home early and so did Natalie. Cagalli had no idea where Kira went off to and so she was left alone. Lacus luckily stayed behind to keep her company.

"Gosh! You're class president! You beat her off! You rock!" Lacus exclaimed at a still thunderstruck Cagalli.

"I am president! How could that be?" Cagalli asked as they sat on a bench.

"I dunno… perhaps you're just deserving!" Lacus said.

Cagalli shrugged. At some point, she liked the fact that Mia got what she deserved and she got something more than what she bargained for.

"So… is your brother gonna pick you up or are we waiting for absolutely nothing?" Lacus asked.

"Urgh! He ditched me again… I'll go home alone… how about you?" Cagalli said as she checked the time.

"Oh I'll be taking a cab… so you'll go now?" Lacus replied.

"Yeah… see you tomorrow… take care!" Cagalli said and Lacus started to walk away after a short goodbye-hug.

"You too! Call me if you need me!" she said and went inside the cab.

Cagalli decided to walk home to catch some sightseeing in town when she accidentally bumped into someone in the park.

"Huh? Cagalli?" a familiar voice said.

"Athrun?" she said as she looked up into those emerald eyes.

There was a moment of silence, neither can utter a single word.

"You're… on the way home?" he asked suddenly.

"Uh… yeah… sorry if I bumped you…" Cagalli said and smiled.

Once again, he looked down and smiled. "I see… are you going now?"

"Yeah… I guess so… see you around!" Cagalli said and clutched the strap of her bag with her hand and started to walk away.

Athrun ran after her. "Uh… uhm…" he uttered.

Cagalli was puzzled. "What is wrong with this guy? The sun is already setting and I'm still waiting for the continuation of his 'uhm'" Cagalli thought to herself.

"Yeah?" she asked him.

"Do you mind if… uhmm… if I walk you home?" he asked, his cheeks was a bit red.

Cagalli felt blood rush up to her face and looked down and after a few moments, she replied. "Sure"

The two of them started to walk together while attempting to open up a conversation that just might get them to know each other better.

* * *

so how was my first shot? please review! thanks... 


	2. i want to know you

I'm so back! I just want to thank everyone for the amazing reviews! I promise to give my best in this story! I just want to clear some things up so you guys won't get confused.

1.Yzak secretly likes Shiho and Shiho does too but because he pesters her a lot, she will somewhat be drawn to Rey. But don't worry, they will end up together eventually and Rey will be with Luna.

2.Something cute is in store for Kira and Lacus in the succeeding chapters.

3.Mia will scheme about getting Athrun anytime soon.

4. i'll focus on the pairings one at a time so you guys wont get confused.

Well that's it! I hope you'll enjoy reading this next chapter as well!

* * *

Athrun walked Cagalli home and the moment she got in her room, she shrieked in happiness and she doesn't even know why he walking her home had made her feel so happy.

Kira heard the sudden noise from his room and barged into Cagalli's room without knocking. He caught her jumping up and down from the bed.

"Oh… so you're the one who's making the loud banging… I see you got home later than I did…" he said as he made his way towards her bed.

Cagalli was embarrassed and sat down with her brother.

"Who took you home by the way? You found your way by yourself?" Kira asked, surprised. "You barely remember directions…"

"Yes I do! Don't underestimate me fool… I got home by myself…" Cagalli said proudly.

Kira threw a pillow on her face. "Really…" he said sarcastically.

"Fine… I had a little help. And it's none of your concern!" Cagalli said.

"Hey… I'm your brother! Is something up? I should know!" Kira pressed in.

"That's it, I'm calling mom… MOM!" Cagalli yelled.

(note from the author: hey guys, I made the Hibikis a.k.a. the real parents of Kira and Cagalli their parents here since it'll be way out of line if I use Uzumi and the Yamatos.)

Mrs. Hibiki entered Cagalli's room. "What is happening in here? Why are you shouting Cagalli?"

"It's his fault mom, he's bugging me!" Cagalli retorted.

"Kira… give your sister her space. You should know better now…" she said and sighed. "By the way, you just got home Cagalli, you had lunch already honey?"

"Uh…" Cagalli uttered.

Kira knew something is definitely up. "Ooh… she had a date mom! A date that treated her to lunch!"

"Kira! Stop it! Mom it's not true, I just ate some snacks… I'll go down when I'm hungry." Cagalli said.

"I believe you honey… just let your brother be…" she said and smiled. She went out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"What are you waiting for? You can go now!" Cagalli said to Kira, pointing at the door.

"Alright! I'm going!" Kira said and as he went for the door, he turned around and looked at Cagalli and smiled wickedly. "Just remember sis, whatever it is you're hiding from me, I'm going to find out!"

"Just try and you'll get it!" Cagalli said and threw a pillow, aiming for Kira but too late, he already closed the door behind him and the pillow fell on the floor.

Cagalli sighed. She can't get the thought of Athrun out of her mind. She went near the door and picked up her pillow. As thoughts lingered in her mind, she hugged the pillow feeling as giddy as ever. She sat on her bed, thinking about him again.

**FLASHBACK**

"So… you're twins…" Athrun said, chuckling.

"Uh-huh… and I'm the older twin." Cagalli said proudly.

"Oh yeah?" Athrun asked, obviously not believing Cagalli.

"Yes I am!" Cagalli said and punched his arm playfully.

There was a short moment of silence that was broken by Cagalli's grumbling tummy. Athrun smiled, trying not to laugh.

"You're hungry." He said. "Come… I'll treat you to lunch."

Cagalli couldn't believe her ears. "He's offering lunch? What the heck is this? No guy has ever treated me out… except for my brother of course but… this is so… bizarre!" she thought.

"Are you coming or what?" he asked.

"If it's okay then I would…" Cagalli replied, testing him if he's really going to treat her out.

"Then follow me… it's fine with me… it's an honor to treat the class president!" he said, teasingly.

"Hey… don't rub it in… and besides, I accepted the position without thinking that girl would wail out that loud." Cagalli said as they walked inside a café.

"Oh… that girl… Mia Campbell… I don't like her attitude… she's overreacting, really… freaks me out. She wails like a child!" Athrun said.

Cagalli chuckled at his remark. "I didn't know a guy like you could give a comment like that."

Athrun did not answer and he smiled instead. This time he smiled, looking at her and not at the floor. Cagalli felt like singing "halleluiah!" any time now.

He treated her to spaghetti and they talked about certain stuff and Cagalli felt like he was someone she knew all her life. Although he was still not that open, he's a good listener. Cagalli had fun with him alright. After a while, they were done eating.

"Are you sure you don't want me to pitch in with the bill?" Cagalli asked, feeling a bit guilty of not sharing the bill.

"No, it's okay…" he said and paid the bill.

They went outside and started walking home. Cagalli couldn't remember the route and was a bit ashamed of it so she just followed where Athrun was going, besides, he was walking her home.

"Thanks a lot Athrun… I had a great time." Cagalli said and smiled.

Athrun's cheeks blushed and he hid it. "No problem… I had fun too!" he said.

"So… I'll be seeing you tomorrow! Bye…" Cagalli said and went inside the gate.

He waved goodbye and turned around to go away.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Moments later, the phone rang. Cagalli answered it and it was Miriallia.

"Hey! I saw you!" she said on the other line.

Cagalli felt her heart skip a beat. "Saw me where?"

"I saw you eating in a café, you're with Zala! I was with my mom, we went to the grocery… ooh… you are so in love with him!" Miriallia said excitedly.

"You got it all wrong! I just ran into him and then had lunch together… I don't love the guy!" Cagalli retorted.

Miriallia wouldn't take no for an answer. "Whatever you say… but I bet you'll fall for him sooner or later."

"As if Milly… I don't want to compete with Campbell in getting his attention…" Cagalli said diplomatically.

"Girl! From which planet are you from, huh? He doesn't give a damn on Campbell! If I were you I won't waste this chance." Miriallia said.

"God! It's the first day of school… we just met, how could you be so sure he has a crush on me and I have a crush on him too? And where did you get my landline?" Cagalli inquired.

"Duh… what are directories for? Anyway… Cagalli dear, a guy would not bother to treat you out if he's just playin' games with you. He won't waste his time if it's not worth it!" Miriallia explained.

Cagalli took a few minutes to digest what she just said.

"And with a guy as handsome as Athrun Zala, it's really weird for you not to like him…" Miriallia added.

"Nope, nada, zip! Stop it Milly, I'm not falling for that. And I don't want to hang on to stuff not worth hanging on to." Cagalli said, in an attempt to dismiss the topic.

"How can you be so sure there's nothing for you to hang on to?" Miriallia said, causing Cagalli to be at a sudden loss of words.

"Whatever! Change topic please!" Cagalli demanded.

Miriallia's laughter can be heard from the other line. Cagalli told her to shut up over and over but she still pressed the issue in.

"Oh Milly! I'll do everything in my power just to make you stop!" Cagalli swore.

"Hmm… sounds like a good catch!" Miriallia said.

"Hey, that was just sarcasm Miriallia!" Cagalli protested.

"I'll make you a deal. He'll be your date on prom night… he'll ask you out! Wanna bet?" Miriallia said.

"Gosh Milly… this is outrageous! The dance isn't due until three months…" Cagalli said, declining from her offer.

"So what if it's three months away and no it's not… it's just for the fun of it… if he does, then he does! I win! But if he doesn't… you think of the consequence you wanna give me." Miriallia said.

"Hmm… not bad… and this is what you have to do in case you lose… you have to ask Dearka Elthman to the dance! And I mean plead if you have to!" Cagalli said wickedly.

"Not fair! How come you get a good-looking guy?" Miriallia complained.

"Don't be silly, he's not that bad…" Cagalli said, giggling. "I hope…"

"Argh! Fine! Have it your way… just remember, it's Athrun Zala you're losing…" Miriallia reminded her.

"Who is he for you to make him sound so important? He's just Athrun Zala!" Cagalli said, generalizing things.

"Girl, you'll know what I mean…" Miriallia said. "I have to go, my mom's calling me… think about it! For sure you'll lose to me… bye!"

And Miriallia hung up. Cagalli's head was filled with mind-boggling questions.

**Meanwhile**, Shiho went out of their house. She went home early thinking her mom will need her help in cleaning but she hired someone to do the job so out of boredom, she went out.

She decided to check out the town's video shop to rent some movies she can watch at home. She went inside one and scanned through some DVDs that caught her eye. There happened to be someone beside her whom she did not recognize. She spotted a pretty good movie and reached for it the same time the person did. She looked at the person and it happened to be someone she knew from school.

"Yzak Jule?" she said.

"Shiho Hahnenfuss… what brings you here?" he asked, still not letting go of the video.

"I'm here to rent a video, if you don't mind, I saw this first." Shiho said.

"No you don't. I wanna watch this so get your hands off it." He instructed.

Shiho wanted to punch him hard but restrained herself from doing so. She did not want the spotlight at this kind of place but she did not want to let him win just like that.

"Don't you have any respect Yzak? I'm a girl!" Shiho demanded.

"So what? Girls like you put up a fight… you're not a girly girl like Campbell the grouch." Yzak said.

"Fine then have it! I'll go get another one." Shiho said, seeing some people eyeing them curiously.

Yzak was confused. "And I thought this girl is hard-headed." He thought to himself. "Did I offend her or something?" he thought for a moment as he glanced at her. "Nah… I don't care. I shouldn't." he said.

"Bye, hope you'll find something there…" he said and went to the cashier to pay for his video.

Shiho looked at him and grunted. "Arrogant fool" she labeled him.

Yzak went out after one last glance at Shiho. He discovered something that he will enjoy for the rest of his high school life, and that is making life for Shiho as miserable as ever. Shiho on the other hand swore she can't stand his arrogance and will make him pay.

She found a good movie and paid for it before leaving the place. She took the route from the park on the way home, thinking it will be a good time for a short nature walk. She sat on a bench and started to admire the fun scenery of children playing.

"Uhm… excuse me… is this seat taken?" a guy with shoulder-length blonde hair suddenly said, he was holding a book and was wearing Hoshiyamada High uniform.

"Nope" Shiho said and moved away a bit to give him some space.

"So you're from the same school as I am…" she muttered.

"Really? I guess I didn't see you this morning… are you a freshman?" he asked.

"No, actually I'm one of the juniors… and you?" Shiho said.

"Really now… we belong to the same batch then! I'm from 34A…" he said and smiled.

"Oh… I'm from 31A. Mr. La Flaga's class…" Shiho said, recalling her adviser's name.

"I'm from Ms. Ramius' class. By the way, I'm Rey. Rey Za Burrel." He said as he offered a handshake.

Shiho shook his hand. "Shiho Hahnenfuss… I really have to go now… I guess I'll just be seeing you around tomorrow… bye!" Shiho said and stood up to go.

Rey looked back at his book as he waved goodbye at her.

Shiho left and felt a bit happier. For a moment there she was in a sort of bad mood because of Yzak but then she met Rey and that simple conversation was very comfortable. Unexpectedly, someone pulled her hair from behind.

"What the heck!" she yelled and turned around to see Yzak smirking at her.

"You again Jule? What's the big idea of pulling my hair, huh?" Shiho said and glared at him.

"Nothing… I saw you with Za Burrel…" he said and smirked nastily.

"So?" Shiho said and raised a brow at him.

"Nothing…" Yzak said and walked away.

Shiho was confused. "Gosh, that guy is the weirdest creature I have ever met! First he pulls my hair and tells me he saw me and then walks away with no further reaction!" Shiho thought.

"YOU ARE SO WEIRD YZAK!" she yelled at him.

Yzak need not bother to turn around and instead he just raised a hand in the air, acknowledging that he heard her.

Shiho bewilderedly walked swiftly to her house.

**Meanwhile**, Lacus was in her room, her attention on her cellphone as she stored Cagalli and the others' numbers in. Then she saw Cagalli's number had another number written beside it.

"Now whose number is this?" Lacus asked herself.

Then she read the back of the note. "This is Kira's number, just in case you failed to contact me, try reaching me through his. – Cagalli" Lacus read alound.

"Oh… so this is Kira's…" she said as she stored it in her phone's memory too.

Something inside her wanted to send him a message but she did not dare to. But excitement is brewing up inside her and she can't describe the feeling. She was beginning to be nervous as she typed "Hello, this is Lacus" on her cellphone. She was thinking if she should send it or not.

"Should I or should I not? If I do then all I have to do is wait for his reply… and if he doesn't reply… it's all just an honest mistake! I'll say I thought it was Cagalli's number! Right… right. Okay, I'll do it. I'll send it." Lacus said and quickly send the message to Kira.

After a few minutes, Kira replied.

"Hello Lacus… what's up?"

Lacus felt thrilled again and smiled. She sent a reply and the conversation took a few minutes. She enjoyed it a lot and for some reason, she did not erase a single message from him.

**THE NEXT MORNING**

They went to class just like the other day and sat with the people they hang out with as they wait for Mr. La Flaga's arrival.

Natalie sat down on her seat as she waited for her friends and cranked up her cd player. Nicol was still alone too and he approached her when she saw her.

"Hi Natalie…" he said and smiled cutely.

"Hello… ohayo!" Natalie answered as she removed the earphones from her ears.

"Watchaplayin'?" Nicol asked her as he sat down beside her.

"Oh… my favorite music of course… punk rock…" she replied.

Nicol was amazed. "I never knew a girl who likes punk rock as much as I do! This is strange…" he said.

"You like punk music too? That's incredible!" Natalie said excitedly.

Nicol chuckled. He felt something inside him that confirmed something he had never felt before. Attraction was drawing in him that he wanted to know her better.

Natalie on the other hand liked Nicol. She liked him because he was not like other guys who doesn't even open up a conversation to girls but she was uncertain of the level of liking she had for him. Perhaps she just has a crush on him for the good looks and attitude but figured out that she doesn't know him at all.

"I see you're friends with Cagalli's brother…" Natalie said in an attempt to try to know him better.

"Yeah… I have been friends with them since I can remember… we grew up together." Nicol said, liking the fact that she's asking some things about him.

"That's pretty nice… me… I never had permanent friends, my family usually move from place to place, my father is a zoologist, that's why." Natalie shared.

"Really? That's so cool! A zoologist! Uh… do you mind if I ask you something?" Nicol said.

"Yeah sure…" she answered.

Nicol was reluctant but asked her still. "Are you a coordinator?"

"Half… my dad isn't… but I don't really care about races… that's a stupid thing. Differences should be settled and not argued about." She said.

Now Nicol was sure he liked her. She was smart and pretty and he liked the optimism she showed.

"That's really nice to hear… I agree with you." Nicol said.

Natalie smiled at him and he blushed. She giggled when she saw it.

"Hey… that's unexpected to happen… don't laugh at me!" Nicol said.

"Sorry… it's just that… I wanna ask… you're not used to talking to girls, are you?" Natalie asked.

"Uhm… I have to admit you're the first girl I had a sorta long conversation." Nicol said shyly.

Natalie laughed at him. "You're weird."

"Thank you, so are you!" he said and the two of them end up laughing at each other as they shared stories about themselves.

"Hey… watchadoin'?" Athrun asked them as he arrived.

"Oh… hello Athrun…" Nicol said and immediately stood up.

"Hi Athrun" Natalie said.

Athrun smiled teasingly at the two of them. "Hello…"

Natalie and Nicol seemed out of words. Athrun simply loved the feeling of tormenting the two of them for a while. Suddenly, Cagalli came in with Lacus. They were giggling scitdly as Lacus was telling her something. Kira trailed behind them. Natalie approached her two friends. Lacus was excitedly telling Cagalli about Kira and told Natalie about it.

"She likes my brother!" Cagalli whispered happily.

"Oh my god!" Natalie said and clapped her hands.

"Sshh! Keep it down you two…" Lacus said cautiously.

Kira, Athrun and Nicol did not know a thing about what they are fussing about.

"Uh… what's with them?" Nicol asked.

"I dunno… Cagalli just told me Lacus will go with us on the way to school and the moment they got together, I needed to cover my ears with all that shrieking at the back of the car!" Kira complained.

Athrun shrugged. "Girls… complicated."

Not long after, Shiho entered the room and a certain guy was with her. The guy left and Shiho came in.

"Who was that?" Lacus asked her.

"Oh that's Rey, he's from 34A… I met him yesterday." Shiho said.

Her friends eyed her suspiciously. "What?" she retorted.

They started giggling at her. "Shiho's got a boyfriend!" they chanted.

"See how weird they are? She just met a guy and he's now her boyfriend…" Kira said and shook his head in dismay.

Athrun turned to Nicol and snickered. "Nicol's got a girlfriend!" he chanted.

"Huh? No way! I do not! I was just talking to Natalie and that's not a big deal!" Nicol protested.

Kira and Athrun joined forces to bring him down but he just won't admit a thing. Yzak came in with Dearka, closely followed by Miriallia.

Miriallia joined the girls and got updated about Lacus and Shiho's 'boys'.

"Oh! I bet you don't know the thing with Cagalli…" she said and winked at Cagalli.

"Oh no… here we go again…" Cagalli mumbled and rolled her eyes.

The girls continued to tell one another stories and stories while the boys just watched them as they do so. Yzak was in a pretty good mood until he heard Shiho.

"Alright! Rey is kinda cute but I don't like him as much as you think I do!" Shiho said.

For some reason that he cannot explain, Yzak was a bit crestfallen. He was feeling disappointed and a bit jealous and he doesn't even know why. Shiho, admittedly liked Yzak at first but when he started pestering her, she felt disappointed as well and decided to just go with the flow.

"Why the long face Yzaky?" Dearka asked.

"Nothing… I just hate the name of that guy…" Yzak answered.

"Rey? Why? What's wrong with him?" Kira asked.

"Nothing. I just don't like the sound of it." Yzak said and the guys knew that they should be better of leaving the topic as it is.

Momentarily, Mia Campbell came in. Everyone except her friends was irritated by just the sight of her. She blew a flying kiss to Athrun as she passed by. Athrun shot her ultimate death glares and threatened to throw a book at her.

Yzak and Dearka were laughing out loud with Kira and Nicol. They have never seen Athrun that way and it was just very funny.

"I swear I hate that girl." Athrun said.

"Who doesn't? I say she's a psychopath!" Yzak concluded.

Mr. La Flaga came in and they went to their respective seats. He cleared his throat and started writing stuff at the board.

It was just some reminders and then he went off with the lesson.

"Goodmorning class… before I start the lesson for today, I will just assign you to your respective seats. Just listen and take the seat I assign to you. No buts, just follow. Do I make myself clear?" Mr. La Flaga said.

"Yes sir" the class said and they started gathering their stuff.

"I'll just announce the person whom you'll be sitting with and occupy the seats from the first row to the last." He added.

There were many whispers from around the room, mostly from the girls who are quite sad to be separated.

"Amarfi and Ishigami." Nicol felt his heart jump up and down. Natalie sat beside him.

"Watanabe and Nagashima"

"Jones and Avery"

"Attha and Zala"

Mia was shocked and her jaw fell down. "No way!" she was saying to her friends.

"Elthman and Haww"

"Briggs and Maxwell"

"Jule and Hahnenfuss"

Shiho was excited and disappointed at the same time. Yzak was okay with it, he knew that he better act like he doesn't care or else he'll lose his trademark image.

"Yamato and Clyne"

"Campbell and Momotani"

Mia got to sit with the only fat guy in class. As they sat together, Mia was having trouble in fitting in the two-seater for she was very thin compared to Momotani.

After a few minutes, the rest of the class was seated in their proper places. Mr. La Flaga proceeded with the lesson.

A competition was heating up between Yzak and Shiho since both love math.

"I'm so beating you up, Hahnenfuss." Yzak said to Shiho as she stood up to answer a problem at the board.

"Dream on Jule" she answered with full certainty.

As expected, the two just seemed to get along when it comes to fighting. However, Nicol and Natalie seemed to be enjoying each other's company. Miriallia was bugged by Dearka's cockiness and swore she hated him. Dearka did not mind her; he just wanted to torment her a bit.

"Will you stop acting like a know-it-all Dearka?" Miriallia said.

"I don't need to act, I just know." He said boastfully.

Miriallia ignored him till the end of the period. Cagalli and Athrun seemed to be getting along, Cagalli would crack jokes every now and then and Athrun enjoyed her sense of humor.

Kira and Lacus were not talking that much. Kira did not know how to open up and Lacus was tongue-tied.

"You don't like math, do you?" Kira managed to say.

"You bet I don't…" Lacus replied and tried to smile.

"Then we finally have something in common." Kira said and smiled happily.

Lacus felt her heart melt by his smile, but on the sad side… she did not know what to say…

* * *

how did it go? did i mess up or did i not? please review and review! thanks a lot! -raikendai 


	3. mia's plans

hello! for the people who read my fic and reviewed it, thanks a lot! by the way, i would just want to answer some of the reviewer's questions:

1. of course there will be miriallia and dearka moments! but not so early... i want a new twist on their story so just read and watch out... at first milly doesn't notice him but she will later on...

2. P.R.O. stands for "public relations officer"... you know... the one who usually converses with others... the ones who loves to socialize...

okay... that's all! thanks again! here's the third chappie...

* * *

Lacus and her friends were eating lunch at the cafeteria, seated at a table as far away from Kira and the others.

Lacus was in a bad mood and was utterly quiet. The girls were puzzled about the sudden change of her behavior just after math class that went on until their last period in the morning. The moment they sat down, Miriallia was the one who had the courage to ask her what was wrong.

"Do you wish to tell us what's on your mind?" Miriallia said to Lacus as she took a sip from her juice.

Lacus looked down and groaned. "I'm so stupid!"

"Huh?" Shiho managed to say.

"I was talking to Kira and when he was happy we have something in common, I suddenly lost the ability to talk!" Lacus began.

"And then?" Cagalli and Natalie asked in unison.

"And then… I was trembling and I did not know what to say… then he said that maybe I wasn't in the mood to talk and he just stayed silent till the rest of the period!" Lacus said, messing up her hair because of her said stupidity.

The girls exchanged looks of bewilderment and sweatdropped.

"Uh… that's it?" Miriallia asked.

"Yes… and it was so embarrassing! That was my chance to talk to him and I messed up!" Lacus sobbed.

"Oh, don't worry about it… I'm sure my bro don't really mind…maybe he just thought you were not in the mood to talk!" Cagalli said, trying to lighten her up.

"She's right Lacus… and Kira doesn't seem bothered by it… try to talk to him later and maybe he'll talk to you." Natalie advised.

Lacus suddenly saw a new light of hope. "Yes, you're right… I'll do it! I'm going to talk to him and explain my sudden behavior in math class!" she said determinedly.

"That's the spirit! Now go eat your lunch or I'm gonna eat that for you." Shiho said.

They laughed about it as Lacus stuck her tongue on them whenever they teased her about having such a big crush on Kira.

"You know, why don't you try to tell him about it?" Cagalli said as she finished the remains of her mashed potato.

"Are you crazy? Even I can't believe what I'm feeling! And it's just the school's opening… how can you expect him to like me in return?" Lacus said to Cagalli.

"She has a point…" Natalie agreed.

"But it's worth a try! But… how?" Miriallia said.

"I've got an idea!" Shiho said.

The others listened to her intently, hanging onto her every word.

"Listen, you'll get a chance to bond together in the student council… maybe that time might be enough for you to know him better and for him to do so too…" Shiho said.

"Continue" Lacus said.

"And when you're already friends with him, presto! Make him fall for you is the next step to that!" Shiho finished.

"Uh… duh? She's so shy, how could she do that?" Miriallia said.

"Then that's where we come in… we'll be helping her!" Shiho said and took a spoonful of veggies.

"How?" Natalie and Cagalli asked in unison.

"We motivate! We give advice! Especially you Cagalli, he's your brother." Shiho said, pointing her fork at Cagalli before using at on her carrot.

"I hate how vegetarians think…" Cagalli said and drank her juice.

"Hey… I resent that… I am so brilliant! Wait until this works and you'll swear you love vegetarians!" Shiho said certainly.

All of a sudden, Mia was walking toward them with another red head trailing behind her.

"Hello there girls… I want you to meet my new friend, Fllay Allster. She's from the class 34A." Mia said braggingly.

"And she's a lot like you… flirt…" Shiho muttered under her breath.

Mia stayed composed and smiled in a very plastic way.

"And Cagalli, she wishes to talk to you… she likes your brother, you know…" Mia said, turning to Lacus before she smirked cruelly.

Lacus felt as if something was stuck in her throat that blocked her breathing.

"Sorry Campbell, that won't work…" Cagalli replied and smirked at Mia.

"Huh? How come? Do you mean your brother already likes someone?" Fllay asked in a little voice.

"I bet he does… sorry Allster." Cagalli answered, still glaring at Mia.

"We better go Fllay… were wasting our time on these girls…" Mia said to Fllay before they walked away.

There was a moment of silence between them until Natalie spoke.

"Can you imagine how she thinks? She comes barging in here and then walks out saying we are wasting their time? How stupid…" she said.

Lacus was still quiet and this made the girls worry.

"Lacus… don't tell me you'll let that girl get to you?" Shiho said sternly.

"Look girl, don't think on it for a second. Don't let her get your hopes down. If you want something to happen, then do everything to make it happen!" Miriallia said.

"They're right. And besides, that girl's dumb. Don't think about it." Cagalli said.

Lacus smiled. She knew they were right. It will be a lot more stupid if she was brought down by Mia and Fllay.

"You guys are the best!" she said and smiled with a new hope.

The school bell rang, lunch time was over and the students started going out of the cafeteria.

Kira was walking along with Athrun as the other three walked behind them. Kira was a bit low and Athrun noticed it.

"What's the matter?" he asked Kira.

"Maybe I offended her… or maybe I said something wrong." Kira said.

Athrun sighed and rolled his eyes on him. He scratched the back of his head before repeating the same sentence he had been saying to Kira over lunch.

"You did not!" he said, this time, louder. "Look, maybe something just crossed her mind… don't think like that. Why don't you ask her instead?" Athrun suggested.

"Maybe… I think I will when I get the chance…" Kira replied, still a bit down.

"God, you're still down about that?" Nicol said and shook his head in dismay.

"You know Kira, you've got to stop acting like that and face up to it like a man!" Dearka said.

"Yeah… and thinking about the negative side won't do any good… you're wasting a good amount of time in doing that." Yzak explained.

"Fine then I'll go talk to her later." Kira said and Dearka patted his shoulder.

The boys dismissed the topic once they reached the classroom. They are supposed to have chemistry with Ms. Talia Gladys. After the classroom was filled, she came in.

She looked pretty nice. Everyone in the school was fussing about her said relationship with Director Dullindal and so did Mia and her friends. The others were irritated by their lack of brains, talking in front of their teacher.

"That's a nice welcome… talking about something that is none of your concern." Ms. Gladys said, feigning a smile as she looked at Mia.

"She's in for trouble again…" Miriallia said, disapprovingly as she glanced at Mia who did not seem affected.

Mia always enjoyed making her presence felt, even if it meant causing trouble and being disliked by her peers. All she wants is to be credited for something she did, even if it means doing it the bad way. Ms. Gladys decided to lay off the matter and just get on with the lesson.

"So… can anyone tell me what the periodic law is?" she asked the class politely.

Cagalli's hand shot up in the air and Athrun cannot help but utter "Wow" in his amazement.

"The periodic law is stated that when the elements are arranged in the order of increasing atomic number, elements with similar properties appear at periodic intervals." Cagalli answered.

Ms. Gladys was impressed by her complete and informative answer. Athrun was taken aback; he did not expect Cagalli to be this smart in class since she seemed to be the happy-go-lucky talkative type. Her friends were also surprised and amazed. Kira, on the other hand always knew how much his sister loves chemistry and physics so he is not at all surprised to know that Cagalli can answer the question. Mia was annoyed by all the fussing about how smart Cagalli is.

"I see someone here has the passion for this subject…" Ms. Gladys commented and carried on with the lesson.

"You're good at this…" Athrun whispered to Cagalli.

Cagalli blushed a little and then smiled. "Thanks… I just like it."

"I suck at chemistry… I dunno why but I just don't seem to get all that molecular structures in my head…" Athrun told Cagalli.

"That's pretty easy… if you want I can teach you…" Cagalli offered.

Athrun's eyes lit up and he felt a new ray of hope in passing chemistry shine through the horizon. "Y-you'd do that?" he asked, just trying to make sure.

"Sure I would… it's not a problem, really…" Cagalli assured him.

Athrun smiled warmly and Cagalli felt like her knees was wobbling and getting weak.

"Please… stop smiling…" Cagalli thought to herself. "It's so… cute…" she thought again.

Mia was looking at them from two rows back. She hated every bit of Cagalli now and wanted so badly to make Momotani sit on her. And what she hated most was the fact that Athrun was enjoying talking to her. Momotani the fat guy noticed something was causing Mia's fists to clench.

"Uh… Mia?" Momotani started in between sniffs. Somehow, he always had colds and even had the guts to pick his nose in public.

"What?" Mia replied angrily.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you so angry?" Momotani asked, wiping the goo off his nose with a tissue paper.

"Why? You are asking me why? It's because of that blonde witch talking to my Athrun!" Mia hissed and cursed Cagalli more.

"You hate Cagalli? You know, she's a good person and you should be more like her… I can see Athrun likes her." Momotani said.

Mia turned to him sharply and glared. "Look fatso, if you're just going to rub it in my face that I don't stand a chance against Cagalli, you'll be wishing you were never born." Mia threatened him.

"Uh… Ms. Galdys? This girl is threatening me for no such reason…" Momotani said all of a sudden and all the class' attention was on him and Mia.

"What are you up to now Ms. Campbell? Do you really want me to send you out?" Ms. Gladys said as she erased what was written on the board.

"But I didn't do a thing!" Mia said defensively.

Ms. Gladys laid the eraser on her desk. "Ms. Campbell, just tell me if you don't want to be in this class and I can arrange it for you. Momotani, don't mind whatever she said to you." She said.

"Ooh… that has got to hurt." Shiho said and smiled to herself.

"Uh-huh… look at her… how pathetic." Yzak said.

The two of them nodded in each other's statements and stared at Mia with all the hate they can muster. Suddenly, realization hit them.

"Wait a sec… why am I talking to you? Urgh! How could I have forgotten, I hate you as well Jule!" Shiho said, slapping her cheek.

"Oh yeah! I hate you too… I forgot… how stupid of me to even talk to someone like you Hahnenfuss!" Yzak said to himself.

For a moment, both of them wanted to stab a thousand daggers at each other but restrained themselves. They did not want the same attention that's on Mia and Momotani this particular moment.

However, Natalie was looking a bit anxious.

"Hey… what's with the look?" Nicol asked her.

"Nothing… I just can't seem to picture why on earth would Mia want to always cause a commotion just to get the attention on her…" Natalie explained as she and Nicol glanced behind them.

"I have thought of that too… I dunno… maybe she's just crazy." Nicol said and both of them laughed quietly.

As for Lacus, all she can seem to think of is Fllay. She was pretty, she seems harmless compared to Mia… she seems perfect. Lacus knows she was downing herself too much and she has her own unique style that can contrast with Fllay's.

"Uhm… Lacus? I-I just want to apologize for my behavior… I just thought you didn't want to talk…" Kira said and looked at her in the eye.

"Oh… I 'm the one who should be apologizing, really… I just had a loss of words… you know… I'm just… uhm… trying to know you… sorry." Lacus said and wished she had a better alibi, one that can save her from total humiliation.

"That's okay… so I guess we can be friends now?" Kira said to her.

Lacus was shocked at what she heard but she knew that if she wants to get ahead of Fllay, she better speak up. "Yeah, sure. That would be great."

Kira was more than happy. Ms. Gladys was still negotiating with Mia and Momotani and some of the class were just talking and chatting around, trying not to be bothered by Mia's intolerable behavior. After a few more minutes, it was decided that Ms. Gladys will just talk it over with Mr. La Flaga and since the remaining time was used up, she left the class.

The moment she did, Mia was hitting Momotani with rolled up sheets of paper and was cursing the poor guy.

"Hey sis, you're the president, aren't you gonna stop her?" Kira called out to Cagalli who was staring at Mia.

Cagalli hesitated at first, thinking the matter over in her head when suddenly, Athrun spoke up.

"Go on, you have the right to stop Campbell…" he said and gave her a slight push.

She stood up and went to Mia and Momotani's places.

"Mia, Momotani… you guys should be better off settling down now, the matter is over. You're disturbing the progress of the class." Cagalli said tactfully.

Mia turned to her, her eyes burning with rage. Suddenly, the class was in a state of confusion, every eye was on Cagalli and Mia.

"You know what's should be done here Attha? Do you wanna know what's the real problem? It's you. I hate you so much. I hate you being the all-good girl while I be the one snubbed by the class! I hate you!" Mia shouted angrily.

Cagalli was even more confused than any other person in the class. "Look Mia, I don't know what got into your mind, but I am sure I did not do anything to make you hate me as much as you claim to." Cagalli said, trying not to be angry herself.

Miriallia knew that her friend needed her help and so she stood up and stopped on Cagalli's left side.

"Mia, she's not doing anything wrong to you… if you hate the world this much then don't blame it on the people around you." Mirialia said to Mia as she coaxed Cagalli to just take her seat.

Mia was still burning with fury and even her friends did not take a step forward to even comfort her in fear that she might just throw a chair at them. Momotani was feeling victorious. He was getting sick of Mia being the primadonna all the time and wanted to teach her a lesson.

A few minutes more, their next teacher came in. She had short black hair and a fierce outlook. She looked intimidating and a lot more scary than any other teacher they had met.

"I am Natarle Badgiruel, and I'll be your teacher in Physcial Education. I will be requiring you to be dressed in P.E. uniform every Thursday starting this week, but the ones who will be trying out for varsity shall be wearing the prescribed sport outfit every Tuesdays and Thursdays." She was saying so fast that some of the class was astounded and did not even understand a thing she said.

"Uh… what was that all about?" Dearka asked Miriallia.

"Honestly, I did not get what she just said." Miriallia whispered.

"And for my class rules, no note-passing, no chatting, no eating, no drinking, no sleeping, no writing unless something should be written, no unnecessary activities no, rude interruptions, no lazy bums, no switching seats, no asking questions for you have to listen closely. I have a lot more list of the don'ts in my class… I shall have it posted here by tomorrow. Do I make myself clear?" Ms. Bagdiruel said.

"Yes ma'am" the class answered in unison, still a bit shaken.

"Good. I will not have my lessons started by tomorrow. For today, I want to have the names of the people who want to try out for basketball, swimming, soccer and badminton varsity teams. I will hand out these application forms and each of you will fill it up." She instructed.

The class listened intently and followed her every command.

"Boy… this teacher is scary…" Dearka thought to himself as Aya Nagashima, the girl in front of him passed the paper to him.

After a few moments, all the papers were handed back to Ms. Badgiruel and she skimmed through it swiftly.

"Tomorrow after school, varsity try outs at the gymnasium, except for swimming try outs… check out the school bulletin board for more information." She said as she arranged the papers inside her bag before turning back to the class.

"I will be dismissing you early, wait for your next subject teacher." She said and left quickly.

Mia was looking like her normal self again, not that angry anymore. Athrun was pretty worried about Cagalli for she did not speak the whole time.

"Are you okay Cagalli?" he asked gently.

Cagalli merely shrugged. She was not feeling well. What Mia just said was like a crab eating her brain.

"Don't worry about it… alright? C'mon, it's not really a big problem and you should not be bothered about it… she's crazy, everybody knows that…" Athrun said soothingly.

Cagalli feigned a smile but did not speak up. She stayed quiet for the rest of the day and in their remaining classes.

Shiho was getting worried about Cagalli and she accidentally squeezed Yzak's hand. Yzak was shocked and was motionless until Shiho realized it was his hand she was squeezing.

"Oh my god! I-I'm sorry Yzak… I didn't mean to… don't mind me please…" she said and slapped her cheek again for doing something stupid.

Yzak was still motionless. He doesn't know why but his breathing seemed to have stopped because of that.

By the end of the day, they were dismissed and Kira told Cagalli to tell their mother that he will be coming home later in the afternoon for he, Yzak and Dearka agreed to practice for varsity try outs. Cagalli agreed that she will just go home with the girls. Athrun and Nicol were the assigned cleaners for the day so they were left inside the classroom as everybody left.

The girls rounded up under a shady tree in the school grounds. At first, silence encapsulated them until it was broken.

"Cagalli… we're getting worried. Are you still thinking about Mia?" Lacus said, patting Cagalli's hand.

"Sorta…" she answered.

"Oh… Cagalli… we know you feel bad but we all have to deal with Mia." Miriallia said comfortingly.

"And we mean it when we say 'we'." Natalie said and smiled.

Cagalli smiled, thankful of how much her friends cared about her even if they had just met the day before. A bond brought them together in an instant and that bond appeared to be as strong as something tested for a long time.

"Aww… I'm starting to cry… I'm so touched." Shiho said, and really, she was a bit teary-eyed.

"Hey… stop it already…" Cagalli said and tickled Shiho.

They were having some fun until they saw Mia was talking to Fllay from the third floor window. Fllay appeared to be serious and not like her usual self as a girly girl. The girls knew that something was up and they did not like the thought of it.

"They're definitely up to something…" Shiho said.

"Something wicked if you ask me…" Miriallia added.

They exchanged looks of anxiety and then determination.

"If you're planning to surrender to those girls, count me out." Natalie said, feeling the rage inside her burn just by looking at the two of them talking and planning something.

"Well then… I suggest we go and find out what the two of them have in store for us…" Lacus said firmly.

"Yeah! And we'll show them that good wins over bad…" Cagalli said and they just laughed about it and went out of the school.

As they were walking home, they realized that their houses were a bit far from one another. Suddenly, Athrun and Nicol came by.

"Why are you girls still here?" Nicol asked.

"Oh nothing… we just chatted a bit and we're going home…" Lacus explained.

"I'll be going ahead girls, my mom needs me…" Natalie said, looking at the time.

"Hey, are you sure you can go alone? It's nearly dusk…" Miriallia asked her.

Suddenly, the girls had an idea of setting Natalie and Nicol up.

"Hey Nicol… do you mind walking Natalie home? Who knows if she gets into trouble…" Cagalli said, pretending not to have a plan.

Natalie sensed the double meaning in her statement and raised a brow at her. Athrun thought that helping the girls out can be fun and he nudged Nicol to say yes.

"Huh? Oh… yeah. Yeah sure, I can walk her home." Nicol answered, Athrun looking at him as if telling him to say yes or else he'll be in for major trouble.

"You'd do that? Oh Nicol, we owe you big time… take care of Natalie for us! Bye!" Shiho said, pushing the two of them away.

After walking a few meters away, Natalie turned around and mouthed the words "I'm gonna get you for this" to her friends.

Once the two of them were a bit out of sight, all of them laughed out loud, including Athrun.

"Did you see that? He was blushing the whole time!" Miriallia yelled out in between laughs.

"Yeah! And Natalie… she didn't even refuse!" Lacus said and they laughed harder.

"How would she when it would be in favor of her…" Shiho said and they agreed to her.

"Aww… we forgot to take a few pictures!" Cagalli said, remembering she had a camera phone.

Athrun enjoyed their company, they were such fun-loving people but he knew he had to go, his mother is coming home.

"Uhm… sorry girls, I have to go, my mother's coming home this evening…" Athrun said.

"Oh… do you mind taking Cagalli with you?" Miriallia said, thinking of another scheme to pull off.

Shiho and Lacus agreed wholeheartedly and ignored Cagalli's protests.

"Don't mind them Athrun, it's okay, really. I can go home by myself." Cagalli said, pushing him away.

"Cagalli…" the girls said through gritted teeth.

Cagalli was perplexed. She can't believe that the joke was on her now. She was wishing for a miracle this very moment and she wanted it to be good. Suddenly, Kira was coming into view, panting from all that running he might have done.

"Hey… Athrun… I was worried about Cagalli… I can't accompany her home this evening, mind dropping her by?" Kira said to Athrun.

The three girls clapped and cheered. Kira was puzzled but nevertheless, talked to Athrun.

"Don't be ridiculous Kira, I can handle myself." Cagalli said with full certainty.

"No, I promised mom you'll be safe at home. Athrun's my best friend, I trust you'd be safe with him. Now go, I don't want you to be scolded later…" Kira said.

Athrun was shocked, he wasn't even given a chance to speak. Cagalli was supposed to argue with Kira but Kira was already pushing them away. The two had no choice but to go home together.

Once far away, the remaining three girls cheered and thanked Kira for his miracle.

"What are you girls talking about?" Kira asked.

The girls explained as fast as they could and Kira was now in the team.

"Alright, I'll help with the plan!" Kira said delightedly. "Just don't tell my sister, okay? I have to go, the guys are waiting for me." He said.

Lacus was a bit disappointed, thinking that he could've stayed for a little longer.

"Oh and Lacus?" he began. Miriallia and Shiho inched away and giggled to themselves as they watched Kira and Lacus talk.

"Yes?" Lacus asked him.

"Can I… uhm… call you later? I just have something to tell you…" Kira said and scratched the back of his head.

Lacus was turning bright pink. "Okay… Cagalli has my number…"

Kira smiled and started to walk away but he turned around. "Bye!"

Lacus waved goodbye and Shiho and Miriallia approached her, teasing her all the way.

Lacus left and Shiho rode a cab. Miriallia was about to walk home until she saw Fllay and Mia leaving the campus. She decided to spy a little and try to figure out what they are planning to do.

"Now where are those two going?" Miriallia asked herself and followed the two for a while.

They walked a little farther, Miriallia trailing from behind. They stopped and walked into a coffee shop. Miriallia peeked from the window and saw the person they were about to be meeting. She was shocked when she saw the face of the person.

"Rey Za Burrel!" she gasped.

* * *

whew! that was done! sorry i kinda took longer to update, i swear my geometry exam was confusing! urgh! teehee... so... please r&r! thanks a bunch!waaaaa... i still have exams tomorrow... i condemn exam week... TT 


	4. payback time

finally! chapter four is uploaded! i am so happy! the exams are done for and i can write all i want!... so here it is... please r&r!

* * *

Miriallia can't stand what is happening around her. She cannot make out why Mia was so weird and why was Fllay helping her and the worst thing was, they are asking Rey to help them ruin things for her and her friends. She just stood outside the café window as a random of thoughts run like a crab inside her head. She did not even realize that it was already raining and she was soaking wet.

"Why… what is their problem? Why are they doing this?" she asked herself over and over again.

She wanted to tell her friends, she wanted to run to one of their houses just to tell them about it but somehow, she cannot move from the spot where she have been standing. Later on, she became numb. She felt so cold and cannot move a muscle. All she feels was how much she hates those witches. Suddenly, her vision was a blur and soon enough, she collapsed.

Luckily, a pair of strong arms caught her just in time before she hits the ground.

"Miriallia! Miriallia!" the guy called her name. Still, she did not respond and he knew he had to take her to a safe place but call it a twist of fate; he wants to rescue a girl whom he doesn't even know where her address is.

He propped his gym bag on one shoulder and lifted the girl gently. He went straight to his house and his mother was shocked to see her son bringing home an unconscious girl.

"DEARKA!" his mom said hysterically.

"Relax mom… she passed out can't ya see? She needs help…" Dearka said.

His mother chose not to ask him questions at this very moment and so she directed him to the guest room where he can lay down Miriallia.

Dearka laid her down the bed. "I'm gonna change mom, my clothes are wet…" he said before going out.

"Alright, I'll take care of her…" Mrs. Elthman said and Dearka left the room.

She changed Miriallia's wet clothes with her daughter's old ones and after she did, she went down to prepare some tea. Dearka was already at the kitchen by then, nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie.

"So tell me… what happened?" his mother asked sternly.

"Well… you see, she's my classmate and I passed her by when all of a sudden, she collapsed." Dearka started to explain as he took small bites on his cookie.

"I see… go check on her okay? I'll try calling her house to make sure her parents know about this." Dearka's mom said and proceeded to the living room.

"Okay… her names Miriallia Haww!" Dearka called out as he climbed up the stairs.

Eventually, Miriallia woke up. She looked at her surroundings and failed to recognize its familiarity. The room was covered in flower-printed wallpapers and was a little bit roomier than her room. By then she knew she was somewhere else. She looked at her clothes and realized that it was not hers. Suddenly, Dearka came in while finishing the remains of his cookie.

"DEARKA ELTHMAN!" Miriallia shouted in shock.

"Uh… yeah." Dearka uttered.

"Where am I? What am I doing here?" Miriallia demanded for an answer.

"Uhm… well… you're in my house… I was-" he was saying when Miriallia cut him off.

"Why you perverted creature! Why am I here in your house?" Miriallia said feverishly.

"Hey! Don't start accusing me! You passed out, didn't you know? I was walking along after practice when I saw you standing outside Neptune Café… it was even pretty weird of you to do so when it was raining." The blonde coordinator told her.

Miriallia was trying to recall in her memory what he was saying. Dearka continued his story.

"And then you suddenly collapsed and good thing I caught you. I brought you here cause I dunno where the heck you live!" Dearka said to her and crossed his arms.

Miriallia fell silent and she felt blood rushing to her cheeks. "He… he helped me? He did that… instead of letting my lie down the streets…" she thought to herself.

Dearka noticed it and blushed a bit too. He looked at the opposite direction so that she won't see him blushing.

"Uh… my mom's calling your house… she was the one who changed your clothes and not me." Dearka said to break the utter silence.

"Hmm… I-I guess I owe you big time Dearka." Miriallia said, still feeling a bit embarrassed of being saved by someone who is so unlikely to do such a thing.

Dearka nodded. "I'm going down so you can rest for a while… I'll call you when your mom calls." He said before leaving the room.

"A-uhm… Dearka?" Miriallia called out.

"Yup?" he responded.

"T-thank you" she muttered.

Dearka was surprised. "Well I didn't know you knew how to express gratitude!" he teased mockingly.

Miriallia scowled. Dearka quickly took his joke back. "I was just kidding Miriallia!… so uhm… see ya later." He said and went out of the room.

"So… he's not as bad as I thought…" she said to herself and smiled. "How weird can things get… the eccentric Dearka Elthman… helping me? And the worst… talking seriously?" she chuckled to herself as she laid down the bed and rested her head on a soft pillow.

Meanwhile, Athrun was in his room, making something out of scrap steel materials when his mother entered.

"Athrun darling, aren't you coming down for dinner?" Lenore Zala asked her son.

Athrun looked up and smiled. "I'll go down momentarily mom."

His mother smiled back and left his room. Athrun made something that's shaped like a ball and it was colored with rainbow colors. He chose to call his creation a haro. Unexpectedly, his cellphone received a message.

"Odd…" he muttered for he rarely receive messages for his phone was also rarely turned on.

It was from Cagalli. "Hey Athrun… thanks for walking me home… I know Kira just forced you to do so and you really didn't have to. I got your number from him by the way… so thanks... I appreciate the effort." It read.

Automatically, a smile crept upon Athrun's face. He was grateful of that simple message that Cagalli has sent him.

FLASHBACK 

"You know, you really don't have to do this, I bet Kira was just playing a joke." Cagalli said, stopping.

"No, it's fine with me." Athrun said.

"No… you already walked me home before… I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of your kindness…" Cagalli said, insisting that he can go home now.

Athrun did not want to go home. For some unknown reason, he was drawn to her and wanted to spend some more time with her.

"I said it's okay with me Cagalli… and don't worry, I don't think like that." He said certainly.

They continued walking again. "Did I offend you or something? I was just trying to be considerate… I don't wanna be a bother." Cagalli said.

Athrun smiled. "No you're not. And you did not offend me, I know what you mean by that." He said.

Cagalli smiled at him too. "Are you trying out for varsity tomorrow?" she asked him.

"Yup… Kira and the guys are planning to do so too… how about you?" Athrun replied.

"Well… Shiho and I are planning to try out for the soccer team while Milly, Nat and Lacus want to try out for badminton." Cagalli told him.

"Really? You're into soccer? That's nice…" Athrun said to her.

"Why, you rarely see a girl dig soccer games, do you?" Cagalli said to him mockingly.

Athrun chuckled. "Well… sort of… I think you'd do good." He commented.

Cagalli was flattered. "You think so?"

"Uh-huh… I know you'll make it… plus, Badgiruel likes team players who know how to do their thing." Athrun said to her.

"Alright, I'll take that as an advice… thanks Athrun." Cagalli said and smiled.

Athrun smiled back and a moment of silence followed and they realized that Cagalli was already home.

"Thanks a lot Athrun… I owe you." Cagalli said before going in.

"No problem… it's absolutely fine with me." Athrun said, gripping the strap of his backpack.

"See you tomorrow then! Bye…" Cagalli said.

"Yeah… bye." He answered.

He started to walk away when Cagalli called out to him. "Take care on the way home!"

Athrun turned red and turned around to see her waving at him. He waved back. "Thanks!"

END OF FLASHBACK 

Athrun replied to her: "You're welcome Cagalli… take care…"

Meanwhile, back at the Elthman residence, Dearka was watching t.v. when Miriallia entered the family room.

"Hey… what's up?" Miriallia asked him while standing outside the door.

"Nothing… just watching t.v." Dearka replied.

"I'm going now, my mom's waiting for me outside… thanks a lot Dearka." She said.

"Oh… nah, don't mention it." He said and stood up, walking her out of the door.

"No, I really should thank you." Miriallia insisted and smiled.

He grinned and sighed. "So… uhm… bye! I'll see you tomorrow and tell everyone that you collapsed!" he said.

"You will what?" Miriallia hissed.

"Just kidding… you should lighten up, you know… you look cute when you do so." He said, trying not to blush.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Bye." She said and went out.

Meanwhile, Cagalli was using the Internet for quite a while and Kira was about to call Lacus. He barged inside her room.

"Hey Cagalli… can I use the phone for a while?" he asked.

"Why?" Cagalli said in between chews of her chips.

"I just need to call someone…" Kira said, hoping she wont ask who will he be calling.

"Fine." Cagalli said and disconnected the Internet.

"Thanks a bunch sis!" Kira said and planted a small kiss on his sister's cheek.

He went out of the room in a lot happier mood. Cagalli was puzzled of his weird behavior.

"What's up with him?" she asked herself and proceeded to just play some music.

Kira punched in Lacus' phone number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?" her voice echoed from the other line.

"Hey Lacus… it's me, Kira." He said.

"Oh! Hello Kira… so… why did you want to talk to me?" Lacus asked nervously.

"Uhm… well… I just want to ask you something…" Kira started, trying not to sound nervous.

"Go ahead" she said to him.

"You see… uhm… a while ago, I bumped into Ms. Badgiruel and she told me if I can recruit a muse for the varsity team." Kira explained.

"So… you're asking me to help you find someone? Okay I'll do it!" Lacus said gratefully.

"No! What I mean to say is that… uhm… can you do the job? I mean… I… I want you to do it. I know you can." Kira elucidated.

Lacus was in shock. "W-wait a sec… you're asking me to do it?" she asked.

"Uhm… yeah… if it's okay…" Kira said, hoping she'd do it.

"I'll try… but… why me? You can pick Cagalli…" Lacus said uncertainly.

"Well… uhm… Ms. Badgiruel appointed me as an escort and I… uhm… I just want you to be my partner." Kira said, trying to simplify things.

"Huh?" Lacus said, feeling excited and flattered.

There was silence. "Oh… okay. I understand. I'll do it then… if you want to." Lacus said.

"Really? Thanks a lot Lacus! Thank you!" Kira said, feeling a lot more happier than ever.

Lacus chuckled. "Sure thing… uhm, I have to go now… my mom's calling me… see you tomorrow Kira… bye." She said.

"Okay, thanks again… bye." Kira said. After they both hung up, he started jumping up and down.

Cagalli was a bit irritated by the noise he had been making in his room and so she barged in without knocking.

"God Kira! What's up with you? You're acting so strange you know…" Cagalli said to him.

"Don't mind me sis, I'm just… happy!" he said and shoved her out of the room and closed the door.

"What a rude way to send me out…" Cagalli said as she walked back to her room.

Meanwhile, Natalie cannot get the thought of Nicol walking her home out of her head. She just can't get it out and she was certain she was feeling something different for Nicol.

Nicol, on the other hand, was playing the piano in the music room of his house. For quite sometime, he always played sad songs but now, he was into a different tune.

"Could it be?" he asked himself. "I'm falling for her…"

As for Shiho, she was going through some old stuff of hers when suddenly, Miriallia called.

"You are so not gonna believe me Shiho!" she said frantically.

"Huh? Why?" Shiho asked.

Miriallia told her the whole story, including the part where she got rescued by Dearka and all that. For a while, Shiho was silent.

"So… you mean to say they will be using Rey to start out their plans with me?" Shiho asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm not sure… we don't want to be jumping to conclusions." Miriallia said.

"But I bet that's their plan… and they are not going to succeed!" Shiho said, determined to bring them down.

"So… we'll tell the others tomorrow?" Miriallia asked her.

"Definitely. We'll tell them…" Shiho said. All of a sudden, her mood changed from angry to giddy.

"Hey wait a minute… you got rescued by Elthman you say? Ooh… I bet something happened!" Shiho teased.

"Oh shut up Shiho, you're malicious! It's not like that… it's his mom who did entertain me back there." Miriallia said defensively.

"For real? Gosh… and to think I thought Dearka knows how to handle peers… especially girls!" Shiho said.

"Well… he did talk to me for quite a while…" Miriallia said.

"Oh my gosh! You have a boyfriend!" Shiho shrieked in excitement.

"Shut up with the boyfriend thingy Shiho… it's not like that! You are so gonna get it tomorrow if you don't stop…" Miriallia warned.

"Fine I'll stop… but I smell something fishy." Shiho pressed in.

"Whatever you say…" Miriallia said, trying to shrug off the topic.

Miriallia wanted to get back at her and thought of a naughty idea of doing so. "Tell me Shiho… what's the real deal between you and Yzak? You seem to be enjoying the company in math class…" Miriallia said mockingly.

"Yeah right… I'm trying to beat him Milly, not get to be with him!" Shiho said.

'As if! Well… maybe… you're into Rey! Aren't you?" Miriallia shot at her.

"Stop it will you? Guys are dumb…" Shiho said with certainty.

"Really now… I bet you'll eat your words when you get yourself a boyfriend sooner or later…" Miriallia said.

"In your dreams Miriallia dear…" Shiho said.

Miriallia laughed at her. "Listen, I have to go, I need some rest… see you." She said.

"Okay, rest well… bye!" Shiho said and they both hung up.

It was an early start for peer pressure. The girls surely can handle it but some circumstances are really not that avoidable.

Fllay was talking to Mia about their plans.

"Here's what you have to do Mia… if you really wanna get Athrun Zala, you need to earn his trust. Pretend to be nice, to be good… get everybody's trust and you'll get what you want. No one can resist someone who seems all-perfect. The moment you get them rolling at the palm of your hand, you can ruin them one by one…" Fllay told her wickedly.

"I like how you think Fllay… I'll do it… starting tomorrow…" Mia said.

"But remember, you leave Clyne and Yamato to me." Fllay hissed.

"Of course… you can count on it." Mia assured her.

They just conversed over the phone about their wicked plans that barely has sufficient reason to be done.

THE NEXT DAY 

Everyone was surprised by the change in Mia Campbell's attitude. She seemed nice, harmless and approachable. She even treated Momotani like a little kid as she gave him chocolate bars to munch on so early in the morning.

"What's she planning to do now?" Natalie asked herself as she watched her from a distance.

Miriallia already told them about what happened and they clearly are not fooled by her sudden attitude change. Cagalli and Shiho were already flaring up in rage and wanted to badly to throw a chair at Mia's head. Lacus was not speaking until something crossed her mind.

"So if she's planning to ruin us once and for all… why must she act so nice? And what are her motives in doing so?" Lacus asked her friends.

"That's what we are supposed to find out…" Cagalli said.

"Yeah. We have to find the reasons behind all these stuff before she makes another move…" Shiho said.

"Any ideas?" Natalie inquired.

"Well… do you think… they can help?" Miriallia said, pointing at Kira and the guys' direction.

"Uh, those guys? Gimme a break…" Shiho said disapprovingly.

"Hey… not a bad idea… I'll ask my brother and see what he can do…" Cagalli said.

"Seriously… you're doing that? You think they'd believe us?" Natalie asked uncertainly.

"We'll give it a shot… but if not, we take matters in our own hands." Cagalli said.

"I agree with Cagalli… we should try any possible way to prevent them from ruining us." Lacus said.

They all agreed to seek the help of the boys. Cagalli called Kira and the others to join them for a while and told him all about what have been happening.

"Just as I suspected… that grouch is up to no good." Yzak said in agreement.

"Uh-huh… and it's impossible for her to be so nice after being such a bitch this past few days…" Dearka said.

"Yeah… I think that she's up to no good and you know, she has to be taught a lesson." Nicol said.

"Guys… I have a brilliant beyond brilliant plan." Athrun said as he glanced at Mia, trying to be good.

"And what is it Zala?" Kira asked him.

"Well… if they wanna play… we play along… and investigate at the same time." Athrun suggested.

"Hmm… not a bad mind you got there, Zala…" Yzak said and smirked.

"So you guys are helping us?" Cagalli asked.

"Count us in Cagalli." Kira assured them.

* * *

they will be planning to counter-attack Mia and Fllay... will they succeed? what will be happening next? teehee... tune in you guys.. sorry to keep you hanging! please review! thanks! 


	5. feelings unravel

yAy! chapter five is up... thanks for the reviews everyone! i totally appreciate it! i will try my best to update sooner. so, here it is! i hope you'll like it...

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For the whole morning, Shiho was silent. Somehow, that thing Miriallia pointed out about her being quite a man-hater bugged her. She had so many things going inside her head, she was unnerved by the stuff Mia and Fllay are planning, and she's annoyed about herself. She thinks there's something in her that was so weird and she wants to find out about it. About Rey, she's just fond of him but he's not what she really likes. She's confused.

"Shiho Hahnenfuss!" Ms. Ramius called her name.

Yzak shook her arm. "Hey Shiho!"

Shiho woke up to reality and was a bit ashamed of have been daydreaming in class.

"Are you okay Shiho?" Ms. Ramius asked in concern.

"Yes ma'am… I'm sorry…" Shiho answered. Everyone was looking at her with concern, even Mia Campbell is.

"So… can you answer the problem on the board?" Ms. Ramius asked her.

It was a physics problem, about torques. She loved physics and so she can mentally calculate problems without effort.

"The angle between the x-axis is 35 degrees meaning that the answer for T sub 1 is 360 joules due to the pull of gravity against the 75 newtons on the weight. T sub 2 is equal to 280." She said.

"Very good. I am really impressed Shiho. You can take your seat." Ms. Ramius said.

Her friends gave her reassuring smiles and Lacus even whispered to her "Great job!"

Yzak wanted to ask her about her behavior but he hesitated. But deep inside him, he really wants to know and so he gathered all his courage to open a short conversation. "Hey… what's wrong with you huh?" he asked her.

Shiho was astounded, he just spoke to her. It was something Yzak Jule would never do, especially to Shiho Hahnenfuss. "It's nothing."

"I don't believe you." Yzak said simply.

"And why not?" Shiho said to him, she was still feeling irritable to talk.

"Because I just know. You have something in that head of yours that you wanna spill…" Yzak told her.

"He knows? How could he do that? How can he tell something's on my mind?" she thought to herself.

"Look Shiho, I'm doing this because I think you need to get it out of you… if you don't want to, then fine with me. I don't do this often you know, so if you want to say something, say it." Yzak said sharply.

Shiho's eyes widened. "Are you really Yzak or are you an impostor?" she asked him.

Yzak scowled. "I don't normally do this okay, I just want to do something good once in a while… so spill it, I'll listen."

Shiho was thunderstruck. This was certainly not Yzak Jule. But never the less, she really needed someone to talk to. "You see… I was just thinking about Mia and Fllay… their big problems… their psychotic behaviors… and I just thought about myself." She said briefly.

Yzak nodded softly. "I see… you know, Mia and Fllay are such dumb witches… you should not be thinking of them too much… we'll be helping you out." He paused for a while. "So… what about yourself?" he asked her.

"Well… I dunno… I'm weird… I dunno." Shiho said anxiously.

"Are you… uhm… thinking about Rey and what he might have to do with Mia?" Yzak said as he doodled on his notebook.

"God… he knows! This guy is a certified weirdo!" Shiho thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Nicol was not talking to Natalie and she thought he was mad or something. He have been a bit quiet for he was trying to ask Natalie about something but he can't get the words out of him.

"Nicol… are you mad at me?" Natalie asked.

"N-no Natalie! Of course not!" he said quickly. "I am not mad you… I was just thinking of something."

"Oh… well I just thought that you were… I'm sorry." Natalie said and stood up as Ms. Ramius left the room.

"Nat! Wait up!" Nicol said, Natalie was on her way to Cagalli but went back when Nicol called her.

"What?" she asked him. Nicol fidgeted uneasily and breathed heavily.

"I… I… I… I-I'm sorry." Nicol said and covered his face with both hands.

Something inside Natalie felt hurt. For a while, she thought Nicol must've liked her too but instead of trying to make a move, he said he's sorry and for Natalie, it cleared matters to her. Perhaps he was sorry because he doesn't like her the way she likes him. However, Natalie was good at hiding feelings and so she did.

"O-kay… later!" she said and walked over to Cagalli.

Miriallia was talking to Dearka. Her pre-judgements about him were proven wrong. He wasn't as uncanny as she thought, in fact he's a good joker and easy to talk to.

"Look, if Mia will continue to be nice to Momotani and give him chocolate bars every ten minutes, that guy will surely blow up!" Dearka said.

Miriallia laughed. He was right, if Mia were to give out those chocolate bars, it should be to the ones who need to gain weight and not to those who are overweight.

"Cut it out… the girl's trying so hard to be nice!" Miriallia said.

She never imagined that she can be friends with Dearka. She was very comfortable with him and she was always having fun.

Meanwhile, Natalie got back to her seat and left Athrun and Cagalli do pretty much whatever they are doing.

Cagalli was drawing funny caricatures on a sheet of paper as Athrun wrote the speech balloons. After looking at it, the two of them would end up laughing at it. Cagalli then drew Mia, holding a bunch of chocolate bars for Momotani with a big grin on her face. Athrun laughed and wrote something that highlighted the picture. The two of them discovered something where they can bond… it was on having fun.

"You know, I can't believe you're best friends with my brother… that guy doesn't know how to lighten up!" Cagalli said as she continued to draw yet another picture of Mia.

Athrun laughed silently. "You think so? Well… to tell the truth… I am more of an introvert compared to him. I… uhm… I rarely laugh." Athrun shared.

Cagalli's mouth fell open. "What? Then why are you laughing along with me?" she asked.

"Maybe because… I have fun when I'm with you." He said as he added dialogues to the picture.

Cagalli was out of words. "Seriously… does he mean that?" she asked herself.

Athrun looked at her and smiled genuinely. "Thanks Cagalli." He said.

"For what?" Cagalli asked.

"For teaching me what it was like to have fun through small things." He said simply and showed Cagalli the finished product.

It was a picture of Mia and Fllay and Athrun wrote "The witches are in town!". Cagalli laughed at it… it was an ugly drawing but it was worth some fun.

"Thank you too, Athrun." She said. "For appreciating my lame sense of humor."

"Anytime" Athrun said and they continued to chat as they drew some more.

Suddenly, Mr. La Flaga came in. He looks like he have been running around all day.

"Class officers, a meeting is held for the high school dance next week… proceed to the multi-purpose hall." He said and quickly left.

Cagalli and Athrun stood up and so did Lacus and Kira. Dearka was having fun talking with Miriallia about Mia but he reluctantly stood up to join them. Mia stood up, feeling very proud of being the class muse. Kira was not pleased with having Mia around but still, nothing can be done.

They walked out of the room and proceeded to the hall, Mia trailed behind them for all of them did not want anything to do with Mia Campbell, and that included being recognized as classmates.

"God… why does she have to join us…" Cagalli thought grudgingly. "Muses are just lame positions… it's insignificant!"

Out of the blue, Mia went up to Athrun who was walking alongside Kira and Dearka. Athrun was startled and Cagalli and Lacus stopped walking.

"Hi Athrun" she said then clung on to his arm. "Mind if we walk together?"

Cagalli felt her blood boil in anger and wanted to strangle Mia's head any time soon Dearka, who was standing beside her noticed her rapid breathing and patted her shoulder knowingly. Kira and Lacus were exchanging looks of disgust. Athrun shoved her hand away.

"I don't mean to be rude but I prefer to walk alone." He said and walked hurriedly ahead.

The other four were delighted. "She deserves it… way to go Athrun!" Lacus thought and smiled widely.

Cagalli was surprised. It wasn't like Athrun to do such a thing but still, she felt glad of what he did. Mia finally gets rejected.

Mia looked like a cat that just got poured on by ice cold water. She was on the brink of tears but maintained her structure. Perhaps she realized it was not the right thing to do, to cry in front of Kira, Lacus, Dearka and Cagalli. After quite a walk, they reached the hall and found Athrun sitting there, along with other students, probably from other classes. The four proceeded to take the vacant seats beside Athrun.

Cagalli was sitting beside him and noticed that he looked infuriated. She sighed. "What's wrong Athrun?" she asked him.

Athrun did not look at her and stared at the floor. "Why does she have to be here?" he whispered to her.

"Well… she's one of the officers… we can't do anything." Cagalli said, Mia was sitting four seats away from them, sitting beside Dearka who avoided talking to her completely.

"How dare she do that? Urgh… hate it." Athrun said, clenching his fists.

Cagalli was frightened; he might be planning to pounce her sooner or later. Cagalli held a firm grip on his arm. "Athrun, if you're planning to hurt her physically, don't do it. You'll get into a much bigger trouble. Now fix that mood of yours… c'mon! Cheer up!" Cagalli said and smiled.

Athrun finally looked at her and smiled. "Yeah… I guess so."

Cagalli was surprised. He did not move away when she touched his arm. She quickly removed it due to a slight embarrassment and to look away in order to hide a tinge of blush on her cheeks.

"Hey, what do you think will be happening here?" Lacus asked Kira.

"Maybe the student council election… if not, it should be the board election for the high school dance." Kira said and looked around.

"Oh… there's a dance?" Lacus inquired.

"Yup… it's the first time ever since this is the first year we accepted girls here in our school." Kira said and paused as he glanced at Athrun and Cagalli talking. "I don't even know how to dance…" he added.

Lacus giggled. "Who does? I don't know how…" she said.

Kira was surprised. He was fascinated that a girl like Lacus did not know how to dance. As for Dearka, he never looked at Mia since they sat there.

"Uhm… Dearka? What are we doing here?" Mia asked him.

"I was praying you would never speak up…" he thought but nevertheless, he answered her. "I dunno" he said simply.

Mia was thinking that they might have an idea about her act. She badly needed Fllay's advices right now. She looked around and found Rey Za Burrel seated beside people who could be his classmates. Fllay was nowhere here and Mia felt disappointed.

Meanwhile, back in the classroom, since the teachers are in the meeting too, the class has free time to enjoy. Shiho, Natalie and Miriallia were sitting together near the window, occupying Yzak's seat and the tables.

"What's up with you a moment ago Shiho?" Miriallia asked. "I forgot to ask you about it…"

Shiho glanced at Yzak, sitting beside Nicol a few seats away behind them. The two were obviously telling jokes for Nicol was laughing out loud as Yzak continued to speak.

"Watchalookin' at?" Natalie said as she looked at the direction Shiho was looking at.

"Huh? Oh… about that… well… I just looked out of the window and felt like daydreaming for a while… teehee…" Shiho said.

"Good thing Ms. Ramius is nice… you're lucky." Natalie said and Miriallia nodded in agreement.

Shiho recalled seeing the concern in Yzak's eyes. "What had gotten into him that suddenly he was like the nicest guy on the planet?" she asked herself.

"You know, that act Mia's holding up, it's doing great. Momotani seems fooled." Miriallia said.

The two girls looked at Momotani who was eating the chocolates from Mia. Shiho snorted. "Perhaps those have poison in it!" she kidded.

The other two laughed. "Yeah… not a poison, a potion… you know, to make other people believe her rubbish." Natalie said.

"You bet… urgh! She'll get it sooner or later." Miriallia said as she drummed the window sill with a pencil.

"Hey, you think the meeting is about the dance?" Shiho asked suddenly.

"Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that… the dance is coming!" Miriallia said and recalled her bet with Cagalli.

Seeing the smile on her face, Natalie asked her something. "Uh, what's with the smile Milly?" she asked.

Miriallia giggled. "Listen, me and Cagalli have a bet."

The two turned to her and listened intently to her every word. "I said that Athrun likes her and she did not believe me!" Miriallia said.

"Huh? How come?" Shiho asked.

"I dunno… she kept pressing in that maybe Athrun likes Mia." Miriallia said to them.

"Campbell? That's impossible!" Natalie said and Shiho agreed.

"Yeah I know… so I proposed to her that Athrun will ask her to the dance. If I win, then I win!" Miriallia said proudly.

"Hmm… not a bad idea…" Natalie said to Miriallia.

"But if you lose?" Shiho suddenly asked. Miriallia fell silent at the recollection of what she has to do if she loses.

"I… I have to beg Dearka Elthman to take me to the dance." She said and bowed her head down.

The two girls had a hearty laugh. They can't believe Miriallia would ever do such a thing. "I do hope you'll lose Milly, no offense… that would be a great scene to watch!" Shiho said as she and Natalie laughed harder.

"Quit laughing okay? It's not funny! It's me who's going to be asking him to it and this ain't a sadie-hawkins kind of dance!" Miriallia retorted as the other two continued to laugh.

"Hmm… wait a sec… who are you guys going with huh?" Miriallia said mockingly.

"Dunno" Natalie said. "Dun care" Shiho said to her.

"Hmm… wanna bet?" Miriallia said excitedly.

"Are you going for a craze for betting? It's better if you make bets with rich businessmen and not us." Shiho said.

"Uh-huh… remember, you still have a bet with Cagalli… you don't even know if you'll be winning." Natalie warned her.

"Fine… but I think Nicol will ask you out." Miriallia said to Natalie.

Natalie was silent. She just remembered Nicol saying "I'm sorry" to her. For some reason, her heart was stabbed just upon hearing that small sentence from a guy she really liked.

"Nope, don't count on it." Natalie said, trying not to sound serious.

"As if… and you Shiho… what if Rey asks you the same time as Yzak does?" Miriallia asked.

"Rey… I wouldn't dare go out with someone who teams up with those witches… and as for the Yzak part, are you dreaming Miriallia Haww? That guy is such a snob to even attend that occasion!" Shiho said, while inside her mind, she was hoping Yzak would ask her out. She shrugged the thought off her mind, thinking it was not the right thing to think about.

"You guys are so negative about this…" Miriallia said while twirling her pencil around her fingers.

As for the boys, Yzak and Nicol stopped fooling around and started talking about guy stuff. Yzak was fuming at the thought of having to ask a girl to a stupid dance.

"Lighten up dude… you just have to ask… are you afraid of rejection?" Nicol asked him.

"Rejection? Who cares about that… I don't even want to go to that lame thing in the first place!" Yzak said irritably.

Nicol chuckled at his friend. He was always such a hothead. Yzak turned to him sharply. "How about you?" he asked Nicol.

"Well… I have something to tell you." Nicol said, scratching the back of his head.

Yzak raised a brow on him. "Oh boy… I smell something bad coming up… go ahead. Spill the beans." He said.

Nicol told him about his feelings for Natalie and his terrible mistake just a moment ago. Yzak sighed heavily and said that Nicol was so stupid to let go of a thing like that.

"I know I was stupid… oh man! I need help here…" Nicol said desperately.

"Buddy… I'm afraid I can give no help… you know I have never liked a girl before!" Yzak said simply.

"Oh yeah? Then why do you hate it when Rey is mentioned especially by Shiho?" Nicol asked tactlessly.

"I don't care… I just hate Rey and that has nothing to do with Hahnenfuss… I don't fancy girls… it's a waste of time." Yzak said stridently.

Nicol knew he should not rub in the issue. He chose to let it go and change the topic. He asked about the varsity try outs and they all agreed to try for basketball.

Back in the multi-purpose hall, the teachers held the student council elections and started picking out the dance committee members. Mr. La Flaga was very proud when Kira was elected as president. Rey Za Burrel came in second and got the position of vice president. Lacus was secretary again and Cagalli and Athrun were the treasurers. Ms. Ramius suggested to get two in order to raise more funds. A boy from her class, Shinn Asuka was the P.R.O. this time. Dearka was given the job as the main speaker, meaning he will be the one who will announce the latest news every morning before the assembly. Dearka hated it for it meant not being allowed to be late so he sulked beside Mia and wished he had never been an officer, this was getting to be a bad day for him. Mia on the other hand was feeling low but continued to act as nice as possible though deep inside her, she wanted to hold a protest rally. After the meeting, they were accompanied by Mr. La Flaga back to the room to announce to everybody what happened.

The class settled down as Mr. La Flaga started to speak.

"I am grateful to inform you that Kira made it as the new student council president, Cagalli and Athrun are the treasurers and Lacus is the secretary. I'm counting on you to cooperate with them, officer or not. We are supposed to be united in this class." He said proudly.

The class cheered for them and Dearka protested that Mr. La Flaga forgot to mention him. "Hey not fair! How about me?" he yelled.

Miriallia was startled. "You got a position?"

"Oh and yes, Dearka Elthman will be the school announcer starting tomorrow. Don't be late, Elthman." Mr. La Flaga said and the class cheered for him as well.

By the thought of not being allowed to be late, Dearka changed from proud to sulky. Miriallia giggled at him, restraining her laughter.

"And what's so funny Miriallia Haww?" he said sarcastically as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"N-nothing… you got a great job Dearka…" she said, still fighting of fits of laughter.

"Haha… laugh all you want! At least I got a position… unlike Campbell…" Dearka said and stuck out his tongue at her.

"I would like to remind everybody, try-outs for varsity teams are open later up to Friday." Mr. La Flaga reminded the class.

Whispers emerged, it seems like most of the class are planning to enter a team for the intramurals.

"And by the way… things are rescheduled. The dance will come first before the intramurals so preparations for it are to be made starting this week for the dance will be next Saturday. The intramurals will be three months from now, due to the request of Ms. Badgiruel to give the teams enough time to train." He explained further.

Cagalli raised her hand up for a question. "Sir, will you be picking out some of us to be members of the committee for the dance?" she said in hope that her friends will be chosen.

"Oh yes… thanks for reminding me about that. Haww, Hahnenfuss, Ishigami, Nagashima, Jule, Amarfi, Fujimoto and Momotani, you guys are the ones I chose." Mr. La Flaga said quickly.

Yzak was outraged. "Say what? Committee member? Oh puh-leez…" he muttered and cursed under his breath.

"It's not only you who will bear the burdens of this…" Shiho said, happy that she'll get to be with her friends and sad at the same time that she has to do loads of work.

"I have to go… take care of the class Cagalli." Mr. La Flaga said before he left the room.

Nicol was wishing he had never said what he said to Natalie. Now she was not even talking to him, she was talking to Natsumi, her seatmate on the left side. Natalie on the other hand wanted so bad to talk to Nicol but figured out that it's not right and all she has to do is to let it all go like she felt nothing.

"Natalie?" Nicol said suddenly.

Natalie excused herself to Natsumi and turned to Nicol. "Why?" she asked him.

"Can we talk?" Nicol asked, desperately trying to make her understand his mistake.

"We're talking now aren't we?" Natalie said.

Nicol bowed his head down. "Look, I'm so sorry… I said the wrong words a moment ago! It's not what I intended to say I-" he was saying until Natalie cut him off.

"Don't worry about it… I understand. I'm sorry, I know you're just trying to be nice and you don't really have to if you don't want to." She said and feigned a smile.

Nicol's mouth fell open. "N-no! You don't understand, what I'm trying to say is…" he said, picking out the right words from his vocabulary.

"It's okay Nicol, it's fine with me." She said and turned to Natsumi again and resumed their talking.

Nicol nearly slapped himself. He was so stupid. It was very easy enough to say the words "I like you" but he was just so stupid to do so. He glanced at Natalie, being so carefree as she talked to Natsumi. Nicol was having a hard time trying to figure out what may be in her mind. She was too extraordinary but he's not giving up on her.

Athrun and Cagalli were just talking about certain stuff, including the dance.

"I hate having loads of work to do… imagine, I have to deal with school work, committee stuff and I even wanna try out for varsity." Athrun said and sighed.

"Same here… god knows how much I wanna quit!" Cagalli said and they chuckled.

"Cagalli? Uhm… can I ask you a favor?" Athrun asked Cagalli.

"Sure… what is it?" she inquired.

"This quiz is coming up, you know… molecular structures… I'm kina having trouble with the computations…" Athrun said timidly. He was asking help from a girl! He was seemingly the damsel in distress this time, only that he's no damsel; he's a boy asking for a girl's help.

"Oh that… sure thing… okay, I will." Cagalli said and agreed to tutor him.

"Thanks a lot… I owe you big time!" Athrun said happily.

After waiting for 45 minutes for the school bell to ring, they are finally dismissed. The students crowded up in their locker rooms, changing their uniforms from regular to P.E. and while there, the girls agreed to try out for the girl's soccer team. Then after a short while, they went out and bumped into Kira and the boys.

"Hey… trying out for basketball?" Cagalli said to her brother.

"Yup… soccer is it?" Kira said.

Cagalli and the rest nodded. "Good luck, hope you make it!" Dearka said excitedly.

Natalie noticed that Nicol was not in his usual self, he was quiet. She decided that it's best to pretend not to know about it.

They left and Kira whispered to Lacus, "Good luck". Lacus was inspired and determined to get in the team.

They proceeded to their respective venues. Ms. Gladys was the one in charge of the soccer team while Ms. Badgiruel was the coach of the basketball team. All was going along fine until Miriallia turned around to see such a horrid sight.

"Girls, we got company…" she said and the others turned around to see Mia and Fllay, trying out for the team.

"Those two? Don't count on it, they won't go up for the risk of breaking a nail…" Shiho said and shook her head in dismay.

"I just hope you're right…" Natalie said, feeling something might be up.

"Ignore them, they're a complete waste of our time." Cagalli said an turned the other way.

"She's right. Let's just do our thing and leave them to theirs." Lacus agreed and sided with Cagalli.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the school, the basketball try outs are already in the process. They are supposed to shoot some hoops first. Athrun did a nice job and so did the rest until it was Yzak's turn.

Yzak saw Rey Za Burrel, looking at him from a distance. For some unknown reason, he wanted to show Rey who's the boss and so he gave it his best shot.

Ringless. A perfect shot. Yzak sighed in relief until reality shot him.

"Why am I doing this in the first place? What am I trying to prove now?" he asked himself but somehow, the answers are hidden somewhere that he cannot find.

* * *

haha! that was done... Yzak was a bit puzzled about what he really feels abou Shiho and Nicol can't stop committing mistakes... will he lose Natalie? Who will win between Miriallia and Cagalli in their bet? What's up with Mia and Fllay this time? ... even i don't know! hahaha! oh well... just wait till the next chapter... please review and review! thanks a lot! 


	6. practice and weekends

finally! chapter six is up! weeeeee! thanks for the wonderful reviews! it inspires me to write some more... thanks a bunch! here's chapter six... enjoy!

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny**

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Mia and Fllay sat down at the grass beside Cagalli and the others. They all shifted from sporty to bad mood. Mia still kept up her unconvincing act and Fllay was not showing any signs of her witchiness. Miriallia and Natalie have been talking for the past minutes of waiting for their turn to kick the ball and when the two approached them, they wanted to kick the ball straight at Mia and Fllay's faces.

"Fllay! I hate being nice! I can't take this anymore!" Mia complained through gritted teeth to Fllay.

Flay rolled her eyes at her. "This is the only way! Be nice!" she said and smiled at Lacus in a very plastic way. Lacus quickly looked the other way, avoiding her stares.

"Look, this pretend thing is driving me up the wall! I hate it! can't you think of any other way? Cause if you can't see, this ain't working. They know!" Mia said to Fllay.

Fllay was thunderstruck. "How would they? Not unless… urgh! Maybe Rey told Shiho!" Fllay said, distancing behind so that the girls cannot overhear their conversation.

"No… I don't think so… what I think is that maybe one of them saw us." Mia said for certain. "We paid Rey, he wouldn't blow it up."

"I'm not sure about Za Burrel that much… well then, if one of them saw us then let them be… we'll ruin everything for them at the dance!" Fllay said and smiled evilly.

"And how exactly would we be able to do that?" Mia asked lazily.

"You take Cagalli… you want Athrun that much, do something about it… and I'll be taking care of Lacus Clyne…" she said as she glared at Lacus who was currently taking her turn at the ball.

The goal keeper failed to dodge Lacus' attack and the ball was successfully kicked to the goal. Her friends cheered for her as she sat back down and Shiho stood up to take her turn.

Fllay's eyes were nearly slits when Lacus got that shot. Mia was thinking of a suitable way to steal Athrun's attention from Cagalli Yula Attha.

Meanwhile, at the gym, the boys have been accepted at the basketball team, along with some others. Ms. Badgiruel was happy to have such good players for the junior batch this year.

"Okay team, listen up. Jersey numbers shall be handed out when I say it should be. Is that clear?" Ms. Badgiruel said firmly.

The team agreed and Ms. Badgiruel nodded. "For the mean time, shoot some hoops as I go talk this over to Mr. La Flaga." Then she left the gym for a while.

Kira and Dearka walked over to the refreshments stand and got themselves beverages. Nicol was discussing something with Auel Neider, from Ms. Ramius' class. Athrun and Yzak were practicing a little with passes.

"What's with the anger Yzak?" Athrun asked upon noticing that Yzak wasn't in the mood to play.

He merely shrugged and threw the ball back to Athrun. "Don't mind me." He said sternly.

Athrun raised his brows and did not open another conversation. Unexpectedly, Rey Za Burrel went up to the two of them. Yzak made a hard pass to Athrun who nearly missed it when he saw Rey.

"What's up? Can I play?" Rey asked, particularly pertaining to Yzak.

Yzak was flaring up and started to walk away. "Go ahead" he said and left Athrun to play with Rey.

Athrun knew that something peculiar is running through Yzak's mind and he should be asking about it sooner or later. Yzak joined Kira and Dearka at the stands to get himself a bottle of water.

"Curse you Za Burrel…" he said under his breath.

Kira and Dearka looked at each other, perplexed. Dearka prodded Kira and the side and pointed at Yzak who had his back at them.

"What's with him?" Dearka asked Kira who just shrugged and replied, "No idea". The two decided to leave it as it is for a while. Lately he had been very angry at Rey.

Rey was trying to talk to Athrun as they played for a bit. "You know that girl, Shiho?" he asked Athrun.

It struck Athrun that this might be a part of the witches' plans and that he better take caution when saying things to a person he cannot be sure if he can trust. "Uh-huh… why?" he replied as he shoot the ball at the ring.

"Nothing… she's kinda nice…" Rey said as he took his turn at the ball and made a lay-up.

"Yeah" Athrun replied simply. Everything is clear to him now; he is starting to understand why Yzak hates Rey this much… although he still has to make sure before jumping to conclusions. He thought that perhaps, Yzak was hiding his true feelings for Shiho and a guy who always tells stuff about Shiho can truly be unnerving.

"You know, I'm thinking of asking her to the dance… what do you think?" Rey suddenly said.

This struck Athrun so suddenly that he failed to respond. "Is this a part of their plan to humiliate the girls? What should I say?" Athrun was asking himself. He knows he has to protect Shiho and he has to think quickly.

"Oh… well… I don't think you should. Somebody had asked her already." Athrun blurted out a lie.

Rey looked at him, he did not seem convinced. "Really huh?"

"Yup… one of my classmates did… perhaps she said yes." Athrun said and figured out that he has got to leave Rey or he'll be forced to tell another lie.

"Uhm… I have to go… catch ya later…" Athrun said and strided to where the guys were.

Nicol was already there and was talking to Kira and Dearka while Yzak sulked at the left end of the bench, drinking his distilled water. Athrun told them about the conversation with Rey and surprisingly, Yzak listened to it.

"Hmm… it's probably just a plan to make things miserable for Shiho…" Nicol concluded.

"Right… but you told Rey she's already gong with someone? Tsk… this is going to be hard Athrun… for Rey to stop making moves on Shiho, a guy must show up with her to the dance." Kira said tactfully.

"Kira's right… any suggestions?" Dearka said and turned to Yzak.

Yzak took the last gulp from the bottle. "Why are you guys looking at me?" he said and scowled.

"Look Yzak, you may be a mystery wrapped in a puzzle but you are very easy to figure out." Athrun said and wiped the sweat off his face with a towel.

Yzak grimaced. "I don't have an idea about what you are meaning to say." He declared.

"Oh quit acting so innocent! You like Shiho. You do." Kira said.

This kind of pulled Yzak's wires. "Listen, I DO NOT. I don't like her one bit. Stop bugging me about this, if Rey wants to go with her, then let it be!" he said and returned to his bad mood.

"Then why are you still in a bad mood? It's impossible to hate Rey with no such reason. You're just jealous that he can make a move on Shiho and you can't." Dearka pressed in.

Yzak glared at him and that glare clearly spelled you-are-so-dead-Dearka. Nicol was getting irritated.

"Just admit it, you like her and you're jealous." Nicol said to Yzak.

"I said I don't, leave it! I don't really care!" Yzak said angrily.

The boys knew they had to lay off the topic for a while or Yzak will surely blow the whole gym up. When Ms. Badgiruel returned, she dismissed them and the practice was over. Rey left with Sting Oakley, a boy who was rumored to be a gay but Rey obviously wasn't updated about that. The boys gathered their stuff and went out of the gym.

"You guys go ahead, I'll fetch Cagalli." Kira said and went the other way while the other four went the opposite way.

Meanwhile, it was a shocking moment when Mia and Fllay made it to the team. Cagalli felt like crushing every bit of Mia and Fllay and feeding their remains to the dogs who were victims of famine. They were dismissed as well and what added more to their shock was when Mia walked up to them.

"Uhm, girls? I just want to apologize for every thing I have done. I am so sorry…" she began.

"Who are you fooling, dimwit?" Shiho muttered and turned her back on her.

"Look Mia, we don't wanna get tangled up in any of your affairs, it's best to leave the situation as it is." Lacus said without doubt.

"But please hear me out… I'm sorry." Mia said with the puppy-dog eyes. Fllay backed her up.

"She said she's sorry, aren't you going to forgive a poor girl like her?" Fllay said to them.

"We don't mean to be rude to you girls but we don't want to start something that can end up in a bad way." Natalie said.

"Yeah, and we are not bothering you in any way and you'll be better off doing the same." Cagalli said and started to walk away.

"Sorry but we cannot accept your apology." Miriallia said and followed her friends.

Kira was in sight and he waved to Cagalli. Fllay was flaming with anger and when she was about to throw the soccer ball at Cagalli, Mia held her back.

"Fllay! What're you doing with that? Are you out of your mind?" Mia said hysterically.

Fllay grudgingly put the ball back to the ground and walked out towards the girls' locker room. Cagalli and the others went over to Kira who was standing outside the field gate.

"Hey… how's practice?" Kira asked the girls.

"Witches…" they angrily replied in unison.

Kira was puzzled. "Witches… Mia and Fllay?"

"Shut up!" Cagalli automatically said. "Don't ever, ever mention her name!"

Kira obliged. His sister is mad and he better keep quiet if he doesn't want her to explode. "Okay… so, are you girls going home now?" he asked, turning back to the others.

"Uh-huh…" Miriallia answered, hoping not to see another trace of Mia and Fllay till the rest of the day.

"Me too…" Natalie said.

"I'll get you guys a cab…" Kira said and motioned for a cab.

He cab stopped in front of Miriallia and Natalie and they both went in. "Bye guys!" Miriallia said and Natalie waved goodbye.

"Uhm… I'll be going now… bye…" Shiho said and clutched her bag.

"You're gonna walk?" Cagalli asked.

"Yup… it's not a problem, really… take care!" Shiho said and started to walk the other way.

"Bye Shiho!" Lacus called out to her and Shiho turned around to wave goodbye.

The three of them walked together. "I have to tell you girls something…" Kira said for an introduction.

He told them about Rey earlier. Automatically, Cagalli and Lacus gave violent reactions at the thought of Rey asking Shiho to the dance. It was unacceptable enough that he joined forces with Mia and Fllay but ruining things for Shiho is far worse.

"Then what happened?" Lacus asked.

Kira then told them about Yzak's part. He wanted Yzak to be the one to get Shiho to be his dance partner instead of Rey Za Burrel.

"Why is Yzak soooo stupid?" Cagalli asked, looking up at the skies.

"Yeah! If he likes her then he should get a move on now!" Lacus agreed.

"That's exactly what we have been trying to tell him but he just won't admit a thing." Kira replied to them and shrugged.

"And to think that Shiho likes him too…" Cagalli muttered. Upon hearing it, Lacus gave her a why-the-heck-did-you-spill-it look.

Cagalli gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Kira's eyes widened. "Someone likes Yzak? The Yzak Jule?" he asked in shock.

Since they have already spilled it, they better tell the whole story. "Uhm… technically, yes." Lacus anwered, giving Cagalli the this-is-all-your-fault look.

Cagalli shrugged and mouthed "I'm so sorry!" to Lacus.

"Argh! Yzak should get this chance! Only that he's so stupid to even realize it!" Kira said at the thought of Yzak losing to Rey.

Kira and Cagalli walked Lacus home and when they reached the place, Lacus was about to go in when Kira held her back.

"What is it Kira?" she asked serenely.

"Uh… thanks a lot for saying yes… about the thing I called you about." Kira said nervously.

"Oh that… yeah, it's okay." Lacus said and finally went in. "Bye!" she said to the twins. Cagalli was eyeing them with curiousity.

Kira and Cagalli waved at her and started to walk to their own place. Cagalli was giggling and Kira was getting annoyed.

"What's so funny?" he asked irritably.

Cagalli restrained her laughter. "You like her don't you? You asked her to be the team muse, haven't you?" Cagalli said, bombarding him with such questions.

Kira's mouth fell open and he nearly smacked Cagalli on the head. "Stop meddling with my business!" he protested.

Cagalli laughed even more. "We're twins right? I should know!" she said and laughed harder. Kira stuck out his tongue at her. "Then what about you and Athrun?" he shot back, putting a tune on Athrun's name.

Cagalli turned red and walked ahead. "Shut up! I do not have a thing to do with Athrun!" she said defensively.

"Cagalli, Athrun sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Kira sang, imitating the voices of elementary school girls who usually sing the song.

Cagalli covered her ears in disgust of Kira's voice. "Oh shut up pea brain!" she said and walked rapidly.

It was Kira's turn to laugh and he jogged a bit to keep up with his twin's pace. "I was just kidding…" he said.

It had been a long week for the students. Many quizzes came up. Cagalli have been tutoring Athrun on Chemistry every Tuesdays and Thursdays at the school library. At times, Yzak would join in when he doesn't quite understand the lesson. Dearka and Miriallia however have been spending some time together because Dearka asked for her help for the morning news for the school. Kira and Lacus are still the same, only that Kira seemed a lot more caring when it comes to Lacus. Shiho on the other hand, was already asked by Rey to the dance but she refused. Still, Rey was as persistent as ever. Natalie was treating Nicol differently now, they are not that close anymore and Nicol was trying every possible way to get her to talk to him like before.

It was already Saturday morning when they realized it due to the busy week that included varsity practice and academic studies.

Kira and Cagalli were talking about school stuff over breakfast. Cagalli seem to have developed an allergy for hearing Mia Campbell's name so Kira never dared to bring it up. Cagalli forked her bacon lazily as she yawned, her hair messy again. Kira just looked at his sister with concern for she might not be feeling well based on her behavior.

"Are you okay Cagalli?" he asked. "You look tired."

"I'm okay Kira… it's just that preparations for the dance starts this coming Monday and I have to get the materials ready… so much work to do stresses me out." Cagalli said.

Although she said something quite right, Cagalli still has some real things in mind. She's thinking about her bet with Miriallia. She pretends not to be affected whether Athrun will ask her out or not but something in her shouts that she will be very disappointed if he doesn't. Kira was getting worried for Cagalli was absentmindedly putting the catsup on her mashed potato instead of putting it on the eggs or on the bacon.

"Uh… what're you doing?" Kira asked, pausing from eating.

Cagalli was brought back to her senses. "Huh? Oh no! What did I do? Dammit… I spoiled my mashed potato!" she said angrily.

Kira was totally confused. "You know, if something's bothering you, tell me now… or else you'll be spoiling the whole day messing up stuff." Kira told her.

Cagalli knew her brother was right but how she can't tell him about Athrun for he is his best friend, it will be very embarrassing to do that. But then again, maybe she just needs some counseling. After all, Kira's a boy, he can understand.

Kira was halfway done with his breakfast when he paused again. "Cagalli, what is the problem?" he asked, being like a big brother now.

Cagalli was still hesitant. "It's nothing Kira. I'm just tired. I think I'll be resting for today." She said and stood up.

"I'll check on you later!" Kira called out to Cagalli as she was walking out of the dining room.

Meanwhile, Miriallia seems to have a happy day ahead. She was working in their garden with her mother and she was feeling calm and stress-free. Then the bet crossed her mind.

"_I'll be winning this one for sure."_ she thought to herself as she cuts the weed off the daffodils.

Then something struck her. "But what if I lose?" she asked herself. She pictured herself kneeling in front of Dearka Elthman, pleading for him to take her to the dance.

"_I'll be the laughing stock of the century!"_ she thought.

Then she pictured Mia Campbell and Fllay in her mind, and all the possible things they can be saying when she does that in front of many people. Miriallia shook her head to shrug off the thoughts in her mind.

"No way this is going to ruin my beautiful morning." She said aloud and continued cutting the weeds off.

"Are you talking to someone darling?" her mother asked her.

"Huh? Oh no mom! I was just talking to myself…" she answered. _"Now that was embarrassing…"_ she thought.

As for Dearka, he was playing basketball at the park with Yzak and Athrun. While the other two were talking about stuff, Yzak was still pretty quiet and refused to offer opinions or even ask for one's.

"So… the dance is getting near isn't it?" Dearka suddenly said as he shoots the ball through the ring.

"Yeah… so?" Athrun answered as he caught the ball and tried to protect it from Yzak.

"Nothing… who are you planning to ask out?" Dearka asked as he struggled with Yzak after Athrun successfully shot a hoop.

"I dunno" Athrun said after catching the ball again after Yzak threw it through the ring.

"What's the big deal about it anyway? You're allowed not to go, aren't you?" Yzak said as he dribbled halfway through the court.

"Duh… you have no choice here Yzaky… you can't say no… I heard part of our grade in P.E. will be taken from here…" Dearka said after stealing the ball from Yzak.

"Uh-huh… and this means you have to have an idea on the subject of dancing." Athrun said irritably as he stole the ball from Dearka.

Yzak felt crushed. _"I don't have a choice?"_ the question kept echoing inside his head. He doesn't want to go to that dance for in his personal opinion, it's a complete waste of time.

Yzak scowled and took a time out to drink some water. Dearka and Athrun followed suit. They were silent for a while until Dearka blabbered again.

"I'm thinking of asking someone…" Dearka said his head bowed slightly.

Due to an untimely surprise, Yzak and Athrun accidentally sprayed the water they're about to drink over the ground. Dearka was never interested in girls and all of a sudden, he is thinking of asking someone. It was indeed a shock of the year.

"Since when have you been interested in girls huh?" Athrun said mockingly as Yzak smirked at Dearka.

"I dunno… I just feel like it. What's the big deal in that?" Dearka shot back at the other two.

"Nothing. It's just that the Dearka Elthman we know only cares about two things and that is basketball and food." Yzak said and he and Athrun laughed out loud.

"Shut up… don't tell me you're not going to ask someone out?" Dearka said to them.

"What for? It's legal to show up without a partner!" Yzak said without hesitation. This statement made Athrun think for a while.

Deep inside of him he wants to ask Cagalli about it but he was just too shy that perhaps she will not prefer him to be her partner. And besides, he has never done anything like this before and he doesn't have a single idea on how to ask someone to something, especially if it's a girl at stake.

"Yeah it's legal but why not give it a try? Come to think of it, this is the first time we're going to do this… and we're 17 years old." Dearka explained and Yzak thought this over for a while.

After seeing the two guys silent, Dearka finally said who he will be asking out. "I'm planning on asking Miriallia…" he mumbled.

Yzak was dumbfounded and Athrun was wide-eyed. "Miriallia?" they said in unison.

"Yeah so?" Dearka said.

"Boy, what nerve you've got Dearka!" Yzak said and chuckled.

"And why is that?" Dearka asked him.

"Nothing… it's just that… Miriallia's the type of girl who has a strong personality just like Cagalli and Shiho… and I don't think you can fool her into going with you." Yzak said and Athrun agreed.

"I'm not gonna fool her, yeah she's strong and that's what I like about her." Dearka said.

Yzak dropped his bottle of water and Athrun was thunderstruck. Dearka is falling in love with someone.

"YOU LOVE HER!" the two boys said together.

Dearka sweatdropped. "Gosh… what kind of brains do you have?" he said irritably.

The two merely shrugged in surprise. Dearka was being open about his feelings and he isn't shy about it. "Don't give me that look… I know you too wanna ask someone… it's about time we do…" Dearka said to the two of them.

Still no response.

"Okay I'll make you two a deal. If Miriallia will say yes to me, you've got to ask someone right after she says yes. And if she says no, I'm going to be your slave for three days!" Dearka said.

"What? Three days only?" Athrun retorted.

"Why yes, I'm not even sure she'll be saying yes!" Dearka said defensively.

The two of them found the idea of a challenge quite inviting. "Yzak, you'll ask Shiho and Athrun, Cagalli." Dearka said.

"Hahnenfuss? Why her? She's going with Za Burrel." Yzak said.

"Nope, she rejected him. But he's still not giving up." Athrun said.

Yzak was surprised. "She turned him down?"

"Uh-huh… that means you can give it a try." Dearka said, dribbling the ball.

There was a moment of silence between them and Dearka chose to let Yzak have a few minutes to think it over. "Athrun, are you up to face the challenge of asking Cagalli?" Dearka said.

Athrun bowed his head down. "I… I… I… don't know how to ask a girl." He said shyly. "So do I." Yzak added.

"But you want to?" Dearka pressed in.

Athrun nodded softly. Yzak nearly gasped. He was kind of disgusted about the fact that he was talking about girls with his friends.

"Then give it a try! I bet she'll say yes!" Dearka encouraged him.

"Okay I'll do it." Athrun said and stood up from the ground.

"And you Yzak?" Dearka asked again.

"Whatever." he replied simply.

Meanwhile, Lacus and Natalie are in a local department store, they are the ones appointed to go shopping for the materials needed for the ball decorations. Lacus can sense that Natalie has something in her mind.

"Do you want to tell me something?" Lacus said to her and smiled reassuringly.

Natalie sighed and started to tell her about Nicol. Lacus was just listening intently and after she was done telling her the story, Lacus heaved a sigh and patted Natalie gently on the hand. Lacus knew how bad Natalie is feeling. Of course it's hard, and to think she was falling for Nicol.

"You know… to clear things up… I think you guys should have a little talk…" Lacus suggested.

Natalie looked at her. "Will he be up for it?" she inquired.

"Perhaps… who knows? Try it out!" Lacus advised.

The two of them discussed the matter for a while and Lacus suggested possible things that Natalie can do. Then suddenly, Natalie asked her about Kira. After a few naggings, Lacus finally admitted she likes Kira.

"I'm positive he'll be asking you out." Natalie said for certain.

"I don't know…" Lacus replied.

"Oh don't play innocent! He cares for you… don't tell me you can't feel it?" Natalie said as they pulled the cart to the counter.

Lacus just smiled. She wants to believe Natalie but somehow, she doesn't think it's right to hold on to something that you are not sure you can have.

As for Shiho, she was just updating her blog at home as she hyped up some music to put her to a more feel-good mood for the morning. Shiho liked to put her thoughts on something where only a few people can read about and know about. Only her friends knew about her blog and she wants to keep it that way. Suddenly, Rey crossed her mind. he was very persistent in asking her to the dance and she was persistent as well in refusing his offer. A part of her wants to go with someone and that someone is not Rey Za Burrel. Another person crossed her mind, Yzak Jule. She was just thinking of him when a song played.

_Turn it inside out so I can see_

_The part of you that's drifting over me_

_But when I wake you're… you're never there_

_But when I sleep you're… you're everywhere_

_You're everywhere_

This made her think for a while. Why of all people, the most constant person trapped in her mind is him? Why him? The one person who always pesters her, who always ridicules her and for some reason… the person who figured her out. Yzak Jule.

_Just tell me how I got this far_

_Tell me why you're here and who you are_

"How can I say I like you when I don't even know you." She said to herself as she thought of Yzak again.

_Cause everytime I look you're never there_

_And everytime I sleep you're always there_

She just realized one thing. She's so strange. In school, her eyes are always searching for him when he's not around. She's always in the mood when he's beside her. He's something different that you don't get to see everyday. A mystery indeed.

On the other hand, Nicol Amarfi was playing his piano again while he cranked up some background music with his cd player. Nicol have always had a weird taste in music, he likes punk rock but he plays classical. A thought struck him suddenly. This is the day he clears up everything to Natalie. He has to if he wants her to realize how wrong she was in thinking he doesn't feel a thing for her.

"But how?" he asked himself. "If I always get tongue-tied, then talking to her is not an option…" then he thought of something that no other person in the right mind would ever do for just that.

He will write her a song. A song that will tell her how he feels.

And so he got a paper and a pen and started pressing keys on the piano as he thought of the right lyrics for the song.

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yAy! that's done... so what do you think? sorry if i'm starting to take a little longer in updating, my brother always wants to get a move on with the girl he's courting and he's always using my computer! dammit... so anyway... any suggestions for Nicol's song? lemme know! ja ne minna-san! 


	7. you're always on my mind

Hey everyone! I would just like to thank the following people for reading and supporting my fic!

rockerchick224, kari480, PaolaAdara (hey, we have the same name! I'm paola too!), Cagalli, MXC, fantasydestiny, Freedom9217, jenniferseedlover, ailiricxxz, cloudy mind, shinycry, hibiscus8, thousandbirds, xrandii, Genny-chan, coolteen92, Poisonus Akemi4869, cathrun, Ouka and You guys rock! I love you all! Thanks so much for reading and enjoying the storyline! I'll do my best on it…

fantasydestiny – I'm sorry if you didn't understand the 6th chappie… it was about their after school practice and what had happened to them during Saturday. Anyways, thanks for reviewing! I'll try my best to do better.

**disclaimers: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny... i just wish i did! teehee...**

* * *

oh by the way, here are some reminders:

Shinn, Rey, Sting, Auel and Fllay belongs to the same class, Ms Ramius' class. Sai, Kazui, Meyrin and Lunamaria belongs to Ms. Badgiruel's class.

let's get on with the chappie! enjoy! please r&r! thanks...

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It's already Monday morning when they knew it. The school is already getting as busy as ever, especially the junior batch since they are the ones in charge this year. Kira was getting really annoyed by all the nagging from different sectors of the dance committee. By lunch time, he was as disgruntled as ever. He is usually found taking in-between naps due to a tiresome start for a day.

Miriallia and Cagalli were talking about their bet as they looked out of the window. "So, did he ask you out?" Miriallia asked Cagalli.

Cagalli felt a tinge of disappointment for Athrun never showed any sign of planning to ask her out for the past few days. But then again, she just might win this bet if he does not. "Uh, nope." Cagalli answered simply and feigned a happy smile.

Miriallia felt a bit uneasy and the thoughts of having to ask Dearka to the dance flashed through her mind again. Then, images of Mia and Fllay laughing at her as she does flashed in her mind and it simply freaks her out. "No way! There's no way I'm gonna lose this bet!" Miriallia retorted, stomping her foot.

Cagalli giggled. "See, I told you he's not gonna ask me."

Miriallia frowned. "We still have until Saturday!" she warned Cagalli. Suddenly, Nicol approached Cagalli.

"Hey Cagalli… can I go out for a while?" he asked politely.

"Where are you going?" Cagalli asked him, eyeing him with curiosity since he was holding something in his hand. "And what is that?" Miriallia butted in.

Nicol scratched his head. "Well…" he begun and told the two girls that it was a song he wrote for Natalie over the weekend and enclosed with it was a note saying "Would you like to go to the dance with me?".

Cagalli and Miriallia were staring at it wide-eyed and heaved a sigh. "Aww… that has got to be the sweetest thing a guy could ever do!" Cagalli said dreamily.

"Uh-huh… Natalie's so lucky!" Miriallia said happily.

Nicol chuckled. "Glad you liked the idea… I was hoping you'd allow me to slip this in her locker…" he asked.

"Oh sure, not a problem. Just make it snappy alright? Or else both of us will be at the principal's office!" Cagalli said and Nicol went out of the room.

He walked to the locker hall and spotted Natalie's locker, the one that had star designs on it. He took a last glance at the piece he made and sighed hopefully. He double-checked it if the note was there, just to make sure she'll be able to receive it. After that, he went back to the classroom just as Cagalli instructed him to.

As Kira sleeps soundly beside Athrun, Yzak and Dearka, the three were talking about the topic they had last Saturday.

"So, when are you planning to do it Dearka?" Athrun asked him as he sharpened his pencil with a cutter.

"I'm thinking of… urgh! I can't do it!" Dearka said and cursed himself for being so uncivilized when it comes to girls.

Yzak smirked. "See… you were bragging about getting girls at this age when you can't even find a way to ask her out." He said mockingly.

Dearka scowled at him. "As if you have something better to suggest!" he said.

Yzak gave him a nasty look. "And who told you I was really into these stuff?" he said to Dearka who was itching to punch him on the nose.

Athrun sweatdropped and tried to manipulate the conversation. "Then try it out… later?" he said.

"Later… are you insane Zala? I have to prepare my lines!" Dearka said, gesturing like an actor.

Yzak and Athrun exchanged looks of annoyance. "This is not a Broadway production for you to memorize lines." Athrun said discreetly. "You're so lame." Yzak said and smirked at Dearka.

"Fine!" Dearka said and dismissed the topic. "And by the way, get ready for if I succeed, the two of you are in for major trouble." He warned them with confidence.

Yzak and Athrun looked at him and ridiculed him even more and said that he's not brave enough to succeed in asking Miriallia out. Dearka was positive he'll get the courage to do so by the end of this week and that Athrun and Yzak will have to pay for treating him like this.

Natalie and Shiho were laughing along about Shiho's so-called "Poor Rey" story. It was about her turning down Rey for the fifth time since he first asked her to the dance. He was really acting like a dumb doodlebrain for being so persistent about something that clearly has no chance in happening. Suddenly, Natalie brought up a question that shut Shiho up.

"But what if it's Yzak who's asking you out?" Natalie asked out of the blue.

Shiho's expression changed. "Jule? As if… don't count on it Nat, it's worthless." She said.

Natalie sensed something fishy. "You want him to be your partner, am I right?" she said and tickled Shiho on the side.

Shiho laughed until Natalie stopped tickling her. "Stop tickling me!" she said and paused for a while. She glanced at Yzak who was laughing along with Athrun and Dearka. "Whatever… who said one cannot show up without a partner? And whoever asks me out, I shall agree… just don't let it be Za Burrel." Shiho said.

"Oh c'mon… then why are you being defensive? You keep skipping Yzak…" Natalie rubbed in.

"Look Nat, the guy hates me. What made you think he'd ask me out?" Shiho said, hoping to wake Natalie up from her thoughts of Yzak asking her out.

Natalie would not give up. "Cause I just feel he will." She said and smiled knowingly.

Shiho changed the topic. "How about Nicol, eh?" she asked.

Natalie fell silent. "What about him?" she said, pretending not to care.

Shiho gave her a "duh" look and Natalie knew she had to tell the story. She told her about hers and Lacus' conversation at the supermarket last Saturday and about all the other stuff concerning Nicol.

"This… is hard." Shiho said, suddenly feeling low for her friend.

Natalie tried to smile but she just can't. "Anyways, I'll just go to that party even without anyone… for sure I'll still be enjoying, I have you guys…" Natalie said.

"Aww…" Shiho said and hugged Natalie. "It's alright Nat… but don't give up, you still don't know what will be in store for you." She said and let go of Natalie.

"Yeah but either way, it's better that I do not expect a thing." Natalie said.

Suddenly, Lacus came in. She spent almost the whole morning running from hall to hall, informing the junior batch about the decorations of the ball since she was secretary. She also had to take the attendances of the committee members and when she came in, she was so tired that her friends rushed to her aid.

"Are you feeling alright Lacus?" Cagalli asked as she fanned her.

"Yeah… just tired." Lacus replied and Miriallia wiped the sweat off her forehead with a handkerchief.

"We should've helped you out…" Shiho said as she patted her hand.

Lacus just smiled. "Are you done? I'll do the job for you so you can rest." Natalie volunteered.

"No, it's okay. I'm already finished." Lacus said, smiling at Natalie.

Kira was already awake by the time Lacus came in. He was a bit worried about her condition and so he asked Nicol about it.

"Hey, what happened to her?" Kira said to Nicol.

"I don't know… perhaps she got knocked-out with all that running around she had to do." Nicol said.

Kira got out his bottle of water from his bag and strode off to Lacus. "Uhm… here Lacus… I know you're tired. I'll do the rest of the job, take some rest." Kira said, handing the bottle to Lacus.

Lacus blushed and the girls giggled. "T-thanks a lot Kira." She answered.

After that, Kira left and went over his notebook of schedules. He then proceeded to Cagalli to talk to her about announcing something to the class. Cagalli agreed and Kira proceeded in front.

"Shut up everyone! Kira's going to say something!" Cagalli called out and in an instant, everybody returned to their respective seats.

"For the chosen committee members, we shall proceed to the gym, to decorate it for the upcoming dance. And as for the others, go to the faculty room to get the set of fliers to be posted 'round the corridors and to the bulletin boards. Move it, now." Kira said. For a moment, the class buzzed around, fixing their stuff and getting ready to leave the room. The ones assigned for the fliers left, leaving the committee members inside.

"Let's go to the gym guys… oh and boys come with me, we'll get the decorations from the stockroom. Girls go ahead, we'll follow." Kira said and the group separated.

* * *

The girls already arrived at the gym and found Ms. Badgiruel there, waiting for them, along with other students form different sections. Moments later, most of the committee boys arrived, carrying the decorations. Everyone silenced when Ms. Badgiruel started to speak.

"So… I see there's 30 of you juniors. Good. I want you all to change in your P.E. uniform for you to be able to clean this facility with ease. The cleaning materials are inside the team locker rooms. Elthman, Asuka, Neider, Amarfi, go get all of those… NOW." She barked and the four boys ran to where they have to get the cleaning materials.

"As the others clean, the others do the decorations. Yamato, give out the specific assignments." She said and Kira stood up automatically.

"The fifteen girls present in here do the decorations and the fifteen boys will do the cleaning." Kira said clearly.

"Change your outfits, NOW! Girls, locker room no.1, boys, no.2! MOVE IT!" Ms. Badgiruel said and the students quickly ran to where they are supposed to go in fear of her to explode in anger.

**GIRLS LOCKER ROOM**

"God! That woman's like a soldier!" Miriallia said in awe.

"I heard she was… until she chose to work here…" Shiho shared.

"She's our adviser… and she has cruel rules devised especially for us…" a girl with long red hair said from behind them. She looked aghast.

"Uhm… hey there…" Lacus said.

"I'm Meyrin…" she said and smiled.

"Hello… nice to meet you Meyrin… I'm Cagalli." Cagalli said and shook her hand.

"And I'm Natalie…" Natalie said, introducing herself.

**BOYS LOCKER ROOM**

"That woman freaks me out." Dearka declared.

"Who's not freaked out?" Kira said, feeling the same agony everyone felt from Ms. Badgiruel.

They had already met some other boys who had the same opinion as theirs when it came to Ms. Badgiruel, most of them are from her class, especially their two elementary school classmates, Sai and Kazui.

After a few moments, everybody went out. All the decorating materials were neatly aligned there and so as the cleaning materials. Ms. Badgiruel gave out her last orders and left the students in the gym. From time to time, Kira would check on what everyone's doing.

Most boys have been talking about asking girls out, fussing about their outfits, and some of them even got themselves girlfriends.

"When will they ever stop?" Yzak whispered irritably to Athrun. Both of them have been listening to some conversations.

Athrun shrugged and shook his head in hopelessness. "No idea…" he just said and the two of them continued to mop the floor.

Nicol was glancing constantly at Natalie who was busy making flower decors with Cagalli. He had been wondering whether she will even bother to read what he slipped in her locker just a while ago.

"Watchalookin' at?" Dearka asked him suddenly.

"Nothing" Nicol said, he was still not in the mood to fool around.

"Nat… is it?" Dearka said as he stopped mopping. "Still not talking to you?" he added.

Nicol looked up at him and shrugged lightly. "Yeah… but I did something I just hope she'll appreciate." He said.

"Surely she will… as long as you won't mess it up again…" Dearka said teasingly.

They laughed a bit and Nicol playfully punched him on the arm. "I made sure of that…" he assured Dearka who nodded at him.

Meanwhile, the girls are having fun making the paper flowers for decorations. Cagalli would sometimes crack hilarious jokes to lighten up the mood.

"It's such a good feeling not to have the witches around here…" Miriallia said as she put tape on the flower to put the design in place.

"You said it… it's so much fun not seeing them!" Shiho agreed.

Then as the discussion progressed, the topic wavered to the dance again. Some girls already had their boyfriends and some do not.

"Has anybody asked you girls out yet?" Natalie asked them as she tied a string on the banner.

"Nope"

"Nuh-uh"

"No"

"Who would ever do that?"

Her friends answered. Natalie laughed for a while and said, "Yeah… and who cares anyway? We can rock that party with just ourselves, can we?" she said.

"You bet! That has got to be a perfect night if you spend it with friends." Lacus said in agreement.

"Argh! I can't get this right!" Cagalli complained, she cannot get the knot done perfectly.

The girls laughed at Cagalli's misfortune and Natalie helped her with how it was supposed to be done. After about an hour, Ms. Badgiruel returned and said that they can return to their classrooms for lunch. The students went to the locker rooms to change and proceeded to their respective classrooms right after.

Before going to the cafeteria, Natalie dropped by her locker to get some books and told her friends that she'll just follow and so the girls went ahead. When she opened it, she found a set of papers stapled together. She got it out and read it. Obviously it was a song since the notes can be played by both guitar and piano. She stared at the lyrics and was amazed by it.

_**Once in a Lifetime**_

_Been thinking 'bout you lately_

_And I don't know what to do_

_All I think about is you_

_Seems everything around me_

_Things I've never understood_

_They all make sense when I'm with you_

_Oh I've heard it all before_

_Finding so-called love then you leave it behind_

_But now I feel so sure_

_I'll listen to my heart this time_

_So I'll lay it on the line_

_I know that what I've found _

_Is once in a lifetime_

_I know there's no way out_

_Cause it's once in a lifetime_

"Now from who could this be?" the question lingered in her mind but she continued to read the song. It was a very touching piece.

_I've always been so lonely_

_No one there for me to hold_

_And every night was just so cold_

_Don't get me wrong, I've been around_

_But I've resigned myself to thinking_

_Mine is just another story often told_

_I've heard it all before_

_Finding so-called love and you leave it behind_

_But now I feel so sure_

_I'll listen to my heart this time_

_Put my heart before my mind_

"Is this a joke?" Natalie asked herself. "This is so not funny… who in the right mind would ever give such a thing to me?" she said again.

_I know that what I've found_

_Is once in a lifetime_

_And I know there's no way out_

_Cause it's once in a lifetime_

_It's not like I'm running out of time_

_I'm taking everything in stride_

_It's just I never thought I'd find_

_What would make me change my mind_

"This has got to be a joke!" she said and when she turned the last page around, she found a note stuck at the back.

I'M SO SORRY NAT… PLEASE TALK TO ME AGAIN.

WILL YOU GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME?

-NICOL

The note was written in Nicol's sort of unruly handwriting. Natalie felt her blood rush up to her cheeks, she was feeling like she can faint in about three seconds more. She clutched the paper tightly in her right hand and felt the beat of her heart going fast. Suddenly, a smile crept up her face and she happily went to the cafeteria to follow her friends.

Nicol had been hiding behind some lockers behind and he saw everything, he even heard her asking questions to herself and he too, found a reason to smile this day.

Meanwhile, the boys are eating their lunch and they told Kira about their agreement last Saturday. Kira was a lot more on Yzak and Athrun's side for it seemed impossible for Dearka to pass Miriallia's test. Nicol sat down beside Kira when he arrived to join them. The moment he did, the boys asked him endless questions.

"Hey, we saw Natalie come in and she looked really happy… what happened?" Kira asked first.

"Yeah… did she say yes? How did you do it?" Dearka asked curiously.

"Did she like the song?" Athrun asked excitedly for he was one of the people Nicol asked about the song.

"Did she read the note? What happened?" Yzak said in between chews of his fried chicken.

"Calm down you guys!" Nicol said, chuckling. He told them about what happened and Dearka declared that from then on, he will address Nicol as Master Nicol.

"I can't believe you did that… you rock Amarfi!" Kira said, patting him at the back.

Nicol glanced at Natalie, and saw that the other four was busy reading the piece and was shrieking from time to time and teasing Natalie about him.

_**Girls POV**_

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Lacus said, fanning herself with her hands.

"This is so sweet!" Miriallia said, pretending not to have known about it beforehand.

"Uh-huh… how I wish I'd find a guy who'll be as sweet!" Cagalli said, pretending not to know too.

"I'd run a Nicol Amarfi fans club for this incredible song!" Shiho said in amazement.

Natalie cannot speak and did not bother too, she'd rather let the flattering happiness sink in as she ate her lunch.

From a distance, Mia and Fllay were watching them and glaring with maximum anger. "Urgh! How can they always get their attention from us?" Mia complained and angrily plunged her fork on her macaroni salad.

Fllay was not happy as well. "Those girls will really get it sooner or later!" Fllay swore.

Mia looked at her with the another-plan-to-mess-up look. "What are you thinking of now?" she asked Fllay.

"We'll screw them at the dance. You know what I mean… get the boys' attention!" Fllay said with a cruel smile.

Mia pictured it in he mind and realized it was not such a bad idea as the first ones they had. "Not bad…" she said and both of them looked at the girls again, with burning jealousy.

After classes, the girls decided to go out for ice cream after varsity practice. It was tiring and a bit of a waste of time since Mia failed to block a single ball from entering the goal. Before leaving the school grounds, they bumped into the boys and unexpectedly, Dearka walked up to Miriallia.

"Can I talk to you for a while Milly?" he asked, looking at the ground.

The girls were whispering excitedly to each other. Miriallia agreed and they kept the conversation on a down low. Odd as it may seem, Athrun and Yzak had been very nervous and Nicol and Kira cannot help but laugh at them.

"Uhm… I just wanna ask you something…" Dearka said, taking deep breaths and twitching his fingers uneasily.

"Go on…" Miriallia said. A sudden feeling was overcoming her; it was as if she was feeling a sort of excitement inside her that was sending butterflies in her stomach.

"W-w-would you… uhm… will it be okay if… uhm…" Dearka tried to begin his speech.

"We'll lose to this one Zala…" Yzak gulped and whispered to Athrun nervously.

"We're definitely toast!" Athrun replied.

The girls however, were like watching a live romance television sitcom right in front of them. Shiho even had the nerve to much on some chips she had there.

Miriallia waited for him to continue.

"_Dearka… come on… speak up… you can do this."_ He thought. And with one last intake of air, he finally blurted out the words.

"Will it be okay for you to go to the dance with me?" he asked, heaving a deep sigh after he did.

Miriallia was blushing bright red and was stuttering herself.

"Say yes! Say yes!" the girls were cheering.

"Sshh! You're ruining the moment!" Kira shushed them.

"W-well… I'd be delighted to." Miriallia said and lowered her head so that her eyes don't meet his.

Dearka looked as if he just won a million dollars. "Really?" he asked.

Miriallia nodded lightly and tried to smile. "Yeah! I did it! Woohoooooo!" Dearka cheered for himself.

Yzak and Athrun felt the song "It's the End of the World" ringing in their ears.

The girls cheered as well along with Nicol and Kira. "Thanks a lot Miriallia… I'll be looking forward to it!" Dearka whispered to her.

"What's that? Speak louder!" Cagalli said absentmindedly.

"CAGALLI!" everyone said and Cagalli shut up. "Sorry…" she said timidly.

Miriallia giggled. "So will I. I have to go, see ya 'round!" she said and went of to her friends.

"You're the man Dearka!" Kira said as he ruffled his hair.

Athrun and Yzak still looked as if the heavens and the earth just condemned them to exile. Nicol met Natalie's eye for the first time.He smiled at her and she smiled back and it was enough to understand that she gave Nicol a yes.

"Oh boy… so I guess it's the three of us who's gonna spend the night with ourselves!" Shiho said, pretending to be disappointed. Cagalli and Lacus laughed heartily and they teased Miriallia.

After a while, the group separated. Kira agreed that Cagalli can go out for a while and that he will be going home now. The rest of the boys left and the girls went to the local ice cream parlor downtown and they ate their hearts out as they talk about Natalie and Miriallia getting dates and about how Mia and Fllay did a while ago at soccer practice.

"It's a miracle Campbell even made it to the team…" Shiho said as she licked her spoon clean.

The girls agreed with her and they continued to talk. Not long after, they are stuffed and went their separate routes in going home.

* * *

Athrun was in his room, listening to some music as he thought about what had happened this day, especially the scene wherein Dearka asked Miriallia out. He had been spending a lot more time with Cagalli and it can be said that they are beginning to form a good friendship. But deep within him he knew that he treated her differently. He thought of her in a different way.

"Cagalli…" he whispered her name.

He lay on his bed with thoughts of her flooding his mind. "How will I ask her?" he asked himself about possible ways on how he could ask her to the dance.

Then he stood up, went to his study table and started making stuff out of metal scraps. After some time, he accomplished something. It was a robotic butterfly that's programmed to only say.

"WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ATHRUN, CAGALLI?"

Athrun smiled to himself. According to Kira, Cagalli had always been fond of butterflies. "Tomorrow, I'll ask her to the dance." He said and grinned widely.

"And this little buddy will help me out!" he said, switching his latest creation on.

* * *

Yzak was watching t.v. in his room and was still uncertain about what to do tomorrow. He knew it will be only fair to Dearka to do his part of the agreement. Then suddenly, the channel held back to a scene wherein a bunch of teenagers were having a dance. He quickly pressed the off button on the remote and covered his face with a pillow.

"Shiho" he said to himself. "Why am I always jealous when Rey is around? Why am I so mean to you when all I want is to be nice?" he asked himself.

The rain began to fall down and it was starting to get cold. He went near the window to look out at the night sky and he saw a fireworks display which was probably for the benefit of some company occasion at the city. He sighed.

"I do like you after all" he said, thinking of Shiho. He made up his mind, he will do what he has to tomorrow for he cannot bare the fact that if he will be stupid enough to let go of this chance in asking her, he'll be more like willing to give her up to Rey Za Burrel.

* * *

Lacus was singing a tune to herself as she was fixing her stuff in her school bag. She removed her chemistry book when a letter fell down from it. She found it strange to have a stray letter falling down from the pages of her chemistry book but she still picked it up. It was a pink envelope that had teddy bear designs and it was addressed to her.

"For me, eh?" she said as she opened the letter and started to read it.

After a few moments of reading it, she was starting to feel numb and her heart skipped a beat. The rain was falling on the rooftops and it echoed to her silent room. She smiled as she replaced the letter inside the envelope and put it on top of her chemistry book.

"Kira…" she whispered and smiled.

* * *

so how was it? Dearka already asked Milly out! weeeee! and so did Nicol! blushes to herself and wishes a prince charming of her own will come out from nowhere LOL... anyway, watch out for the next chappie, it's Athrun and Yzak's turn to shine! tra-la-la-la-la... but the witches are up to something again...tsktsk...!sorry i took a bit longer to update, i've been kinda busy with dealing with my brother... anyways, please review so i can improve any wrong doings! thanks! 0.o , 


	8. maybe it's just like that

* * *

that was long... hehehe... sorry i took so long, i had projects for school... gAh! how i hate it...anyway, thanks for the reviews! here's chapter eight! please don'tforget to r&r! 

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny**

* * *

Upon getting to school, Natalie and Miriallia were in such good moods and so was Lacus. Shiho and Cagalli were not as fussy about getting dates for they do not expect to get ones any time soon. They were talking about this over recess. 

"Well then Milly, I guess you lose to our bet!" Cagalli said.

"Sort of… as it seems… but I will not be doing the consequence! BWAHAHAHA!" Miriallia said, mocking Cagalli.

The girls laughed at their bickering and Cagalli stuck her tongue out at Miriallia who still felt victorious over Cagalli. Lacus was eating her cream puffs happily when Shiho noticed it.

"What's with the cream puff smile there Lacus Clyne?" she asked her.

Lacus giggled to herself. The others were finding her to be a bit crazy for having to laugh like that over nothing at all. They just watched her chew that cream puff as she smiled to herself.

Miriallia and Cagalli exchanged looks of bewilderment. Natalie was nudging Shiho onto asking Lacus again.

"I think the problem's going to her head!" Natalie whispered to Shiho who nodded in agreement.

Lacus saw the confused expressions on their faces and giggled. "What?" she asked them.

"A-are you sure you don't want us to bring you to a psychiatrist anytime soon?" Cagalli asked her with Miriallia giving a nod.

From a distance, Kira was watching Lacus munch happily on her cream puff. Kira was sure she had read the letter he slipped in her chemistry book. He then felt very happy indeed.

As for Athrun and Yzak, they were as silent as they ever were.

"Psst… Athrun…" Yzak said, keeping his voice low so that the three noisy dudes won't hear them. "Are you asking her today?" he asked.

Athrun glanced at Cagalli and then turned to Yzak. "Yeah… I'm planning to…" he said as he forked his salad.

"How would you do it?" Yzak asked with all ears for Athrun's answer.

Athrun shared the robotic butterfly thingy and Yzak was impressed. "Nice idea there… but will that butterfly be as annoying as the haros you usually make?" Yzak asked cautiously.

Athrun shook his head. "Nope… it's like… uhm… you know, when it says the line, you press the button on the lower left and then you record the reply! Fantastic, huh?" Athrun said proudly.

Yzak looked baffled. "But how would she know there's a function like that within the toy?" asked Yzak.

"Easy! I programmed the instructions!" Athrun said and smiled.

Yzak raised an eyebrow. "Uh, duh? Won't that be a bit too complicated? Why not ask her in person and just give the butterfly robot whatever as a gift?" he suggested.

Athrun thought for a while. "Hey… not a bad idea Jule… but let me just remind you of something…" he said, pausing for a while. "I-do-not-know-how-to-ask-her-out-in-person!" Athrun hissed.

"You're not programmed to talk robot, are you?" Yzak answered.

This pulled Athrun's wires. "How stupid can you be! Urgh! Just leave my butterfly thing… and how about you wise guy? How are you gonna ask Shiho?" Athrun said, his smile turning to a smirk.

This shut Yzak up. He was thinking of asking her later and he also thought of just asking her tomorrow but he can't make up his mind.

"I don't know." Yzak replied and bowed his head down.

Back at the girls' table, Lacus already told them about the Kira letter thing and they cheered for it. Shiho and Cagalli were the only ones left without anyone to go with at the dance.

"So I guess that leaves the both of us!" Shiho said, turning to Cagalli and the two girls laughed.

An eavesdropper heard all about the conversation and apparently, she was on Fllay and Mia's side. She quickly went over to where the two witches are and spilled everything she heard. In an instant, Fllay's mood changed. She was holding her fork so tight that in Mia's opinion, it can break into pieces anytime soon if she kept holding it that way. Fllay was cursing under her breath and scornfully glanced at Lacus.

"That bitch! How can she get Kira to ask her out?" Fllay said angrily.

Mia did not know what to say and she knew that she better keep her mouth shut if she doesn't wanna add up to Fllay's rage. They saw Lacus talking harmoniously with her friends and Fllay was getting irritated every time she sees Lacus smile like that.

"I swear I'll get back at her! I'll ruin her special moment at the dance with the most special treat she'll never forget…" Fllay swore, banging the fork loudly on the table.

"You should not have told her that…" Mia whispered to the girl who heard the conversation and the girl apologized to her and walked back to where she was sitting a while ago.

After recess, everything went pretty much back to normal and they were back in class. For some reason, Mia was keeping up the good-girl attitude and even apologized for acting like a real dumbass when it comes to Athrun. Naturally, everyone was taken aback when she did that before the period with Ms. Ramius started. Athrun just nodded and ignored her again, just like what he always does. And for some unknown reason, Mia was sending glares that accentuated the looks of daggers whenever Cagalli had her back on her. Dearka caught sight of it.

"Hey Milly… why's Mia Campbell looking at Cagalli that way?" Dearka whispered to Miriallia.

Miriallia looked at Mia who was seated beside Momotani and indeed, Dearka was right. She was looking at Cagalli as if she hated her with every bit of rage she could muster. "You're right… but… how come?" Miriallia asked and the two of them exchanged looks of anxiety.

Dearka and Miriallia chose to shrug the issue off for a while and agreed that it will be up to the two of them to deal with this in order not to add up to Cagalli's problems being class president.

The period went on and ended with Ms. Ramius giving them a pile of homework to do and since Shiho was such a great mathematician, most students are crowding around her to ask questions and to make Shiho teach them. Yzak gave up his seat for the others who desperately need physics tutoring and instead, he walked over Dearka and Miriallia.

Nicol and Natalie were still finding it hard to talk but it's only because of being shy.

"So… uhm… did you like the song?" Nicol asked suddenly, hoping he could whack himself hard on the head.

"Uh-huh… I played it on the piano last night. Thank you Nicol." Natalie said, finally looking at him.

Nicol was turning red and it contrasted with his green hair. "Glad you liked it… should I take that as a yes?" he asked her.

Natalie giggled and twirled a pen between he fingers. "Obviously you should…" she said and looked the other way.

Nicol, due to the sudden excitement he felt, jumped to his feet and walked over to Dearka, Miriallia and Yzak to share what good fortune he just had.

As for Lacus, she told Kira that she would love to go with him to the dance and that it will surely be a blast having Kira with her.

"T-thanks a lot Lacus." Kira said, knowing that this will be a good start for him to finally get along with Lacus.

The two of them just talked about certain things and had a pretty much enjoyable conversation.

Meanwhile, Athrun and Cagalli were just swapping jokes and fooling around. Cagalli even ridiculed him about Mia.

"You know, that girl really likes you." Cagalli said, tickling Athrun by the side.

"Hey cut it out!" Athrun said, laughing and struggling against Cagalli. "Mia Campbell… heaven knows how much I hate her!" Athrun said.

"Really now… you don't like her? She's pretty you know… she looks just like Lacus… and she's being good!" Cagalli said, pressing in the issue.

Athrun stuck his tongue out at her. "Dream on Cagalli… she may be pretty an all, but she sucks." He said for certain.

"So, it's only you and Zakkie who still haven't gotten dates to the dance!" Cagalli said, looking at Yzak who was trying to fit in with the loveteams around him.

Athrun remembered what he had to do and he better make it fast. But when he tried to speak up, Cagalli spoke ahead of him.

"You know, if he likes Shiho, he better move fast." Cagalli said, turning back to him again. "Shiho said that if someone else wouldn't ask her out before the dance comes, she'll be going out with Rey."

"She'd do that? Why?" Athrun asked in bewilderment.

Cagalli shrugged. "Out of pity I guess, Rey got it bad… he's like… obsessed. I dunno… really." She said.

Athrun stifled a nod. "Rey wouldn't give up won't he…" Athrun muttered.

Cagalli nodded. "So if I were Yzak I'd tell her right off… but that guy's to hard to handle!" Cagalli said, shaking her head in dismay and deciding to change the topic.

"And how about you Zala? Planning on asking Mia to the dance yet?" Cagalli said with a wicked grin on her face.

Deep inside her, a part of her was wishing so hard that Athrun will ask her out but she doesn't want to disappoint herself later on.

"Well that was so nice of you to ask Attha… indeed, I'm planning to ask someone." Athrun shot back and grinned wickedly himself.

Cagalli was a bit taken aback but she restrained herself. _"There you have it Cagalli… in your face! He'll be asking someone and not you!" _a voice in the back of her head said.

"Oh… that's great… good for you." She said and smiled again, hiding what she's feeling at the moment.

"_I'm planning on asking you!"_ Athrun thought. He wanted so badly to say it right out but figured out that this wasn't the right place and the right time to do so.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hallway lies Ms. Ramius' class. Fllay was seated beside Rey, obviously tormenting him again. Rey's face was covered with his blonde hair and he wanted to keep it that way so that he can't see much of Fllay Allster's annoying face.

"Are you doing what you have to Za Burrel?" Fllay asked sternly.

Rey nodded gently. "As you asked me to… I'll never give up on asking her out and beating the crap out of Jule." Rey said his usual line whenever Fllay asked him.

Fllay was silent for a while, obviously thinking of another scheme. "Why are you planning to do that on Shiho in the first place? You're after Lacus Clyne." Rey said tactfully.

"I am after Clyne all right… but I have better plans." Fllay said, looking at him. "I'll ruin her friends first and when I succeed, she won't have much allies to turn to and she'll be the laughing stock of the school!" Fllay said.

Rey looked down at the pages of his open book and rolled his eyes. In his opinion, it was a lame plan. Fllay was such a dumb girl for even trying to do that. Rey was beginning to have the impression that Fllay is some kind of psycho that has to be sent back to where she belongs anytime soon.

"Remember Rey, you work with us and you better work good." Fllay warned him and turned her attention to the person beside her.

Rey sighed. Yzak was his friend way back in middle school and only now that they're in junior high they stopped talking to one another. And because of him helping Fllay, he might lose a friend of his forever.

"Yeah Fllay, I know." Rey answered silently to himself and turned back to his book.

Meanwhile, Yzak was sitting silently at his seat, Shiho wasn't used to him being so quiet but she did not dare open a conversation with someone who obviously has no plans in talking to her.

"_Should I just ask her like, "hey wanna go out?" or should I do something more spontaneous?"_ he thought to himself and racked his brain for any more creative ideas.

"_Urgh! Why didn't I think of a song like Nicol did? And why didn't I just wrote her a letter like Kira? And thinking of an invention like Athrun would've been easier! If only I could do what Dearka did… dammit! Why the heck!"_ Yzak thought, he has got to tell her now or else she might get on with another guy.

Shiho glanced at Yzak, he was ruffling his hair for no such reason and he's looking as if he could break his pencil in half. Shiho grabbed the pencil from him and Yzak stared at her wide-eyed.

"Look Yzak, whatever's happening to you, this pencil is innocent! Don't break it in half! You can give it to me instead…" Shiho said, knowing that she lost hers just a while ago.

Yzak did not respond, he just stared at her. Shiho looked at him, outraged. "What's gotten into you! Are you possessed or something?" she asked him, horrified. She put a hand on his forehead. Yzak instantly turned red. "Hmm… you're not sick… then what the hell is up with you! You're acting like a complete lunatic!" Shiho said, looking at him straight in the eye.

"I… I… I… I…" Yzak stammered. Shiho was getting impatient and she slammed the notebook in front of Yzak.

"You are so weird Jule!" Shiho said, shaking her head in dismay.

Yzak swallowed. _"Now I've done it."_

Soon after, it was time for lunch and just like the usual lunches they had, everyone was chattering around. But now, everyone was chatting about a different thing, and it was the dance that's gripping the nation.

Dearka sat down with Kira and the others and smiled widely at Athrun and Yzak who was silent enough to avoid the topic but Dearka still reminded them about the dreaded dance.

"So… when are you gonna them out?" Dearka said mockingly as Kira and Nicol laughed along with him.

Yzak choked on his chicken strips and Athrun whacked him hard on the back that he successfully spurted out the food that choked him.

"No need to thank me." Athrun said, not taking his eyes off his lunch plate.

Yzak nodded and looked at his almost-finished lunch and suddenly, he felt full. "I'm not so hungry anymore." He said, massaging his stomach.

"Hey Athrun! I heard you have that butterfly whatever hidden in your locker!" Kira said, laughing along with Nicol as Dearka dealt with Yzak.

"What? You knew about that? How?" Athrun asked, he had another dozen questions to ask Kira about his invention for Cagalli.

"You know what, even without that, I'm sure Cagalli would love to go with you." Kira said. "Trust me, I know my twin." He said, urging Athrun to simply just ask Cagalli.

Athrun stared at him. "Is that okay with you? Imma go ask your sister out? Are you sure?" Athrun asked him.

"Sure I'm sure! It's better you than that fruitcake-haired senior student Yuuna Roma!" Kira blurted out.

This time, it was Nicol who choked on his carrot and Athrun hit him on the back and he spurted the food out too.

"ROMA! That jerk? What's he planning to do with Cagalli?" Nicol said, fuming.

Kira nodded irritably. "Uh-huh… he even called our house last night and Cagalli gave the phone to me…" Kira said, telling the story.

"And then?" Dearka asked with curiousity.

"And then I told him to buzz off or I'll kick his butt!" Kira said.

"He's a senior! How can you do that huh?" Yzak asked.

Kira smiled. "Simple… blackmail." He said confidently. The boys did not even bother to ask why or how he did that, they're just happy Cagalli ain't going with Roma.

After eating, they proceeded to decorating and cleaning the gym for the upcoming dance and the girls were more than happy about the fact that they're not seeing Mia and Fllay around.

While hanging up some posters on the wall, Cagalli and Shiho were talking about stuff. Rey just gave Shiho his tenth letter for this day, begging her to go with him. "He's still not giving up?" Cagalli asked, laughing at Shiho.

Shiho rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I wonder what's wrong with this guy… he just won't give up!" Shiho said, mounting the fourth poster on the wall.

"Why not tell him off?" Cagalli asked as she cut some tape and passed it to Shiho.

"How can I?" Shiho said and shrugged.

"Well… uhm… what if nobody asks you out other than him, would you go with him?" Cagalli asked her, hoping that somehow, Yzak would do what he has to.

"Perhaps… just to make him stop… and since I've got nobody else to go with." Shiho said and shrugged.

Cagalli nodded and glanced at Yzak who was now up at the ladder hanging the banner with Dearka on the other side. "Jule, you'll regret it if you let this chance pass you by…" she muttered.

"Hey, I still don't have a dress to wear, mind going shopping with me later?" Shiho asked Cagalli as she finished mounting the sixth poster.

"Sure, I don't have anything to wear either." Cagalli said and both girls agreed to go to the mall after school.

Cagalli went off to Kira to tell him about hers and Shiho's plans later this afternoon as Shiho went over to Miriallia and the others to ask if they would want to come. Seeing his sister approaching, Kira nudged Athrun.

"Athrun, she's coming. Ask her now!" Kira mumbled.

Athrun was at a loss for words so when Cagalli came, he was as silent as an abandoned forest. "Kira, I'm going with Shiho later at the mall, I still don't have a thing to wear to that stupid dance…" Cagalli said, looking at Kira.

"Oh… alright. Do you need me to be there?" he asked her, trying to buy Athrun some time for him to speak up.

"Not really, we can handle it. See ya 'round!" Cagalli said and she strode off to Shiho and the others.

Nicol and Kira stared at Athrun as if he was such a big loser. "Nice going Zala" they said in unison.

Athrun was crestfallen. He knew he must move fast and he has got to do it this instance. "Excuse me for a while Kira, I'll just be off to do something." He said and quickly went out of the gym.

"Now where is he off to now?" Nicol asked. "Hopefully to try and find a way to ask my sister…" Kira replied.

Athrun ran as fast as he could back to their hallway and opened his locker. He got the robotic butterfly out of it and proceeded to their classroom which was empty at the moment. He quickly placed the thing inside Cagalli's backpack and went out again. He dashed back to the gym and arrived panting and breathing for air.

"Hmm… not a bad record, 5 minutes flat." Kira said, checking his watch. "Now what did you do out there huh?" he asked him.

"Nonya" Athrun said, still gasping for air. Kira was puzzled. "Nonya?" he asked. "Nonya-business!" Athrun said and smiled.

"Hate you Zala." Kira said. "Thank you." Athrun replied.

Dearka was trying to talk Yzak into asking Shiho today once they got back down from all that hanging-the-banner stuff.

"You've got to ask her now Yzak." Dearka reminded him.

Yzak merely shrugged. He just stifled a soft nod and did not respond. "Look if you still ain't gonna do something about it, then prepare to lose to Za Burrel." Dearka said.

Yzak thought about what he said but still, he did not do anything about it but he planned on asking her after school.

After an hour, they are supposed to go back to their respective classrooms. Cagalli was walking with Natalie and Athrun called out to her. Natalie teasingly winked at Cagalli who just kept her cool and went back to talk to Athrun.

"What's up?" she asked him and feigned a smile.

"Are you going with someone to the dance yet?" he asked nervously.

Cagalli shrugged. "Nope" Athrun smiled widely and said. "Okay… see ya later!" he said and joyfully strode off to Dearka.

"_What's wrong with him? Asking me about the dance and just left it like that? What a jerk…"_ Cagalli thought and tried to keep up with her friends.

The moment she got to her seat, she opened her bag and found a cute little robotic butterfly in light blue and metallic pink and purple shades. "Aww! This is so cute!" she said and she didn't even realize that Athrun was already seated beside her.

Athrun crossed his fingers from under his pocket as he watched her toy with the thing he gave her.

Suddenly, she pressed the button and the butterfly flapped its wings and said, "WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ATHRUN, CAGALLI?" it asked.

Mia heard it and so did all the other members of the class. Due to excitement, Miriallia nearly strangled Dearka as she joyfully tugged on his arm.

"I won the bet Dearka, I won!" she said and accidentally hugged Dearka due to her excitement.

Dearka was in shock and when Miriallia realized what she had done, he still wasn't able to move. "Oops… sorry about that… I was just happy for Cagalli." She said and pretended nothing happened.

The whole class were cheering for the two of them and Cagalli was still gazing at the toy, finding it hard to breathe. Natalie and Lacus were shrieking in joy and Shiho was too. "Aww… that's so sweet of Athrun!" she said and Yzak looked at her and recalled what he had to do.

Mia was grasping Momotani's arm in anger and she was itching to throw a chair to the both of them. "I swear you'll pay for this Cagalli Yula Attha…" she cursed.

"Let go of me you witch!" Momotani said and shoved her hand away and continued to eat.

Athrun closed his eyes and prepared for his. He was trembling and wished that he hadn't done it in front of the class. Cagalli was blushing furiously and wanted to hide from all the people but she gathered up all her courage to face Athrun.

"Athrun Zala?" she said and the class fell into silence, awaiting what will happen next.

Athurn slowly turned to her, still trembling. Cagalli got to her feet and dragged Athrun out of the room; she did not want to say yes in front of a nosy crowd. They stopped in front of the classroom door and unknown to them, all the class were sticking their ears on the door and on the wall just to hear what she will say.

"Thanks for the effort… and you should've just asked. Thanks." Cagalli said at a still frozen Athrun.

She was about to go in when she stopped and turned around. "By the way, yes, I'll go with you." She said to him and smiled.

Athurn wanted to scream out loud, he wanted to run around and tell everyone about this, he wanted to jump up and down. Then Cagalli went back to the room, closely followed by Athrun. The class was in an uproar and everyone was cheering for the two of them. For a moment, Cagalli felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world, especially when she saw Mia sulking in her seat then it struck her. She was class president and the class was being too noisy.

"SHUT UP!" she yelled and everybody was silent again. She sighed. "Well then… keep it down, okay? Or else all of us will end up in the guidance office!" she said. Everyone laughed. She was such a nice head of the class and everyone liked her for that.

After school, Shiho was already leaving with Cagalli and Yzak was still at the room, he was one of the assigned cleaners for the day. Kira realized that Shiho was already gone and he yelled at Yzak. "Hey! Shiho already left!" he said frantically.

Yzak looked around and found no sign of Shiho. He ran out of the room yelling a "Thanks Kira" as he went off. He ran through the hallways and after a flight of stairs going down, he stopped dead on his tracks when he saw Shiho talking with Rey.

He was asking her to the dance.

"_Yzak…"_ the name echoed in Shiho's mind but she had no choice now. Rey promised to stop if only she'll go with him.

"No…" Cagalli whispered to her ear.

Yzak felt himself getting numb.

"Okay, I'll go." Shiho said.

For a second there, it was as if everything turned to black and white. Shiho then turned to her side and saw Yzak on top of the flight of stairs, looking at her wide-eyed. Rey smiled at him wickedly and Cagalli covered her face with her hands. Shiho gasped.

"Yzak" she mumbled.

Yzak turned around. "I'm sorry" he said and ran away back up the stairs.

Cagalli was irritated just by the sight of Rey acting so triumphant. "Will you get the hell out of here Za Burrel?" she shouted.

Rey smiled at her mockingly as well and turned to his heel and went away. Shiho was still standing there, motionless. Cagalli held her arm and ran her hand through Shiho's hair.

"Was he supposed to ask me out just the minute I said yes to Rey?" Shiho asked Cagalli, in the brink of tears.

Cagalli nodded gently. "Yes, you're right." Cagalli answered, hoping she could've lied instead.

Shiho felt tears roll down her cheeks and she wiped it away with the back of her hand as Cagalli comforted her. She smiled.

"This is stupid... why am i crying now? It's my fault..." she said, chuckling to herself.

"No it's not... and it's not his fault either. Maybe this is just not the right time for you guys to hang out... but don't lose hope... there might be something good in store for you!" Cagalli said, trying not to show sad she felt for Shiho.

"Yeah... c'mon, we better go or the mall will be closing down!" Shiho said, pretending not to be affected anymore.

The two of them walked out of the school grounds and even if Shiho acted like everything was alright, she can't hide the fact that she wanted to run after Yzak and tell him off that she wants to go to the dance with him. But for now, all she can hope for is a miracle for unknown to her, it was like she jumped into a trap, Fllay's trap to be exact and only chance can save her from it this time.

Yzak was looking at the window from their classroom, about three floors up. Kira patted him on the shoulder and resumed his cleaning duties. Yzak sighed.

"It's my fault isn't it... I was so stupid." Yzak said.

"Quite right..." Kira said sarcastically.

Yzak moved away from the window and helped Kira out.

Lacus, Natalie and Miriallia were already at the mall, waiting for Cagalli and Shiho. Once the two arrived, they noticed Shiho's expression and asked what was wrong. Cagalli was the one who told them.

"Argh! That Za Burrel... he always ruins everything!" Miriallia said angrily.

"But... why did you say yes?" Lacus asked consolingly.

"I had to... for some reason i did... i don't know why..." Shiho sobbed.

"Oh..." Natalie said, hugging Shiho. "Don't worry, perhaps this is just a test... who knows, Yzak might even ask you out at the dance... probably for another date!" Natalie said, trying to cheer her up.

Shiho smiled and the girls smiled as well. "Yeah, probably true..." she said and tried to laugh.

"Okay! Let's just drop it for a while and let's go shopping!" Cagalli said excitedly.

Dress shop after dress shop they went along until they found the perfect dresses for themselves. Unknown to them, someone was at their midst, spying on their every move.

* * *

thank god that was done! don't worry about Yzak's part, there'll be something good coming up, but not in this chapter... in the next one yes! so watch out for that! i hope you liked what i did on the asucaga part! ja ne...! 


	9. the dance

chapter nine is finally up! sorry it took me so long, i just got a little busy... i want to post a shout-out to all athrun zala fanatics, belated happy birthday athrun! haha!

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny... i just wish i did! hahahaha!**

* * *

The next day, Lacus was requested to practice and sing a song at the dance. At first she refused for this will be the first time she'll sing in front of many people but Natalie urged Nicol to play the background music on the piano for the performance and so the two of them are excused for the whole day in order to get on with the rehearsals. The final decorations are put up in the gym and are supervised by the student council and by Ms. Badgiruel.

However, a person was being bugged by his conscience…

**FLASHBACK**

"Remember, follow them and keep a close watch… then report the info you get to me." Fllay instructed sternly.

"Why are you making such a big fuss on them buying dresses?"

"Cause I don't want them to look better than I will, stupid!" said Fllay, with an urge to slap him.

"But… may I just ask you, why am I ruining stuff for Shiho when you want to get on Lacus?" he said, pausing for a while. "It's bugging me."

Fllay rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It's because she's the one who was the potential to get in my way, Shiho. Cagalli, yeah… but Mia will deal with her…" she said, surveying Rey's blank expression. "As for Miriallia and Natalie, let them be… I don't really care about Amarfi or Elthman." She said, shrugging.

"But I was supposed to go with Lunamaria! And because of your requests, I can't go with her…"

Fllay smirked cruelly. "That's not my problem… a deal's a deal!" she said and blew him a kiss then walked away."

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Rey clenched his fist at the thought of Fllay. He was at the gym with the rest of the assigned students who shall work there. He glanced at Lunamaria, his all-time crush. She's with Cagalli, the two are obviously trying to get the right color combinations for the balloons. Then he looked at Shiho, she still looked as lonely as ever, and it's his entire fault. As for Yzak, he was just doing his duties, trying not show anyone how he feels by wearing his usual expressions, the one that clearly spells I-Don't-Give-A-Damn.

Meanwhile, Natalie and Miriallia were talking about things and the conversation eventually lead to Shiho and Yzak. Shiho was just sitting beside them and when Yzak was mentioned, she excused herself politely and went over to Athrun and Kira. Natalie and Miriallia knew how terrible she's feeling and regretted they ever said something about the incident.

"I feel bad." Natalie said suddenly.

Miriallia looked at her but did not say anything. "If only we can do something to help her… urgh! How I hate Za Burrel, he ruined everything!" she said.

Suddenly, Natalie's face lightened up. "I've got an idea…" she said and jumped off from her seat and ran to Rey.

Miriallia was dumbfounded but nevertheless, she followed her. Natalie whispered something to Rey and the three of them went out of the gym for a while, exiting through the back door. The moment they found a nice spot for a discussion, Rey's blank face changed. Natalie was determined to get to the bottom of this and Miriallia was really amazed of what she's seeing.

"What?" Rey asked, not looking at neither of the two girls.

"We just want to know why you are doing this." Natalie said simply, crossing her arms in front of her.

"And you better tell everything now. At the first place, you should've just stayed out of this." Miriallia joined in.

Rey knew there's no backing out now. It's between he tells or he ends up in much more trouble. He sighed and cleared his throat to speak. He told them about Mia and Fllay's schemes and everything that happened in between.

Miriallia was wide-eyed. "Just as we suspected! Campbell's just acting!" he said.

Natalie nodded. "So she thinks we'll not be much of a bother to her plans so she's taking on Shiho, eh? We'll see about that…" she said, her heart pounding in rage.

Rey gulped, it seems like he made a much bigger trouble. "Please… I already told you everything I know… please… I'm willing to tell Yzak that we can switch partners." He said.

The two eyed him suspiciously. "Trade partners?" Miriallia asked.

Rey nodded. "I would like to go with Lunamaria… and as it seems, I ruined everything for the two and so, I'm willing to help to get them back together." He offered.

"And just how do you plan to do that?" Natalie asked mockingly.

"Just leave it to me. I think this is the way I can apologize as well." Rey said.

Natalie and Miriallia looked at each other. The two concluded that he seems sincere enough to stick to his words but then again, they need to make sure if he'll do it or not. Miriallia went in and tried to find help. She then spotted Dearka fixing the tables and she pulled his arm.

Dearka yelped in pain. "What the hell-" he said then he saw Miriallia.

"Hey! We need your help..." she said, shushing Dearka to keep quiet.

Dearka was surprised and confused at the same time. Miriallia pulled him outside and when he saw Rey, he nearly jumped at him for being such a jerk. They first made sure that Yzak and the others did not notice them going out of the place.

Dearka scowled angrily. "What's he doing here?" he snarled.

Natalie and Miriallia, both determined to prevent him from killing Rey anytime soon took charge in the explaining. Natalie and Miriallia took turns in telling him the story and what they want to happen.

"Since we are not so sure that we can trust you Rey…" Natalie said, motioning for Miriallia to speak.

"Dearka here will beat you up when you break your promise." She said to Rey. "And not only him, we'll be telling Athrun and Kira too."

Dearka was more than willing to do so. Yzak is his best friend and surely, he'll be happy to help him out with this.

"You can trust me with this. I promise." Rey said and with that, they went inside again to continue their duties.

* * *

After many preparations, the next three days just went by in a flash. The decorating process was a success and everything is ready for the dance on Saturday. It was really fast-approaching and so, it seemed like everyone should really be preparing by now. 

The girls are at a spa and salon downtown, much to the naggings of their mothers. Cagalli hated every bit of it but through some coaxing by her mother and even more naggings by Kira, the blonde girl gave in. Lacus on the other hand was a bit excited about it. Miriallia knew she better go with the flow with her mother and the same goes for Natalie. Shiho managed to cheer up and shrug the fact that she will not be going with the guy she wanted but nevertheless, she just indulged in some beauty fair for the dance.

"So, what time will your son pick up my daughter?" Lacus' mom asked Cagalli's and smiled knowingly.

"Around 7pm he said…" Mrs. Hibiki replied. Cagalli and Lacus chatted as their mothers talked about Kira.

Miriallia was fast asleep as the hairdresser fiddled with her hair. Natalie was talking to Shiho and she avoided mentioning Yzak as much as possible and was surprised that Shiho brought it up.

"You know, it's pretty fine with me now, even if I'm not going with Yzak…" Shiho said.

Natalie was dumbfounded. "Huh? Why? Don't tell me you fancy that Za Burrel?" Natalie said.

"Oh no I don't! It's just that, maybe he was not supposed to ask me after all…" Shiho said and smiled.

Natalie smiled crookedly. "Shiho… but you still like him?" she asked hopefully.

"I guess I do… I will never like Za Burrel in a million years!" Shiho said and looked out of the window.

The hairdresser was about to fix Shiho's hair and before her mother can argue, she said that she would rather have it down. Her reason for doing so is that why should she care much about how she would look when she will be spending the night with a lame guy like Rey. The girls exchanged looks of anxiety, Miriallia and Natalie already told the other two about what Rey said.

Meanwhile, Yzak just woke up from his nap and checked the bedside clock for the time. 5pm. He reluctantly stood up and went to the bathroom. He washed his face and stared at the reflection of his eyes in the mirror.

"Jerk" he said to himself.

Thoughts run through his hazy mind. He will be going to this dance without anyone. He just lost to Rey Za Burrel in asking the very first girl he had ever liked out to this occasion. He felt miserable but in his opinion, Yzak Jule never feels misery. He has a heart of ice and it should not feel any emotion in the first place but when it comes to Shiho, everything just changes. After taking a bath, he opened his closet and chose between a black and a navy blue suit. His mother insisted on the navy blue one since wearing black will look like going to a funeral in his mother's opinion and so he obliged. It was already quarter to six pm. Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Hello?" he said lazily.

"Yzak" a familiar voice said.

"Za Burrel. What do you want?" Yzak said, his brows furrowed in severe anger.

"Look, I have to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Just go down, I'm at your gate."

"Whatever" Yzak said. He thought for a while if he should talk to Rey but he figured out he better do. He'll not chicken-out on this and so he finished dressing up and went down to see Rey standing beside his car. Yzak opened the gate and went out; he has no intentions of being hospitable at the moment.

"So?" he asked casually.

Rey started to tell him about Fllay and what he was supposed to do. In an instant, Yzak was in high temper and nearly punched Rey when he demanded he still wasn't finished in telling his story.

"And what I want you to do is… make Shiho smile again tonight." Rey said.

Yzak smirked. "Dramatic intro Za Burrel… but I don't get you." He said.

Rey adjusted his tie. "I'm not picking her up, you will. I will not cancel the date tonight but let's just put it like this. Surprise her by showing up instead of me. 7pm." He explained.

Yzak was confused. "Are you kidding?" he asked mockingly.

"I'm not. I already told Lunamaria I'll be going with her… and mind you, stop sticking up for your pride, this is your chance and I'm giving it to you." Rey said and dismissed the conversation. He went inside his car and started the engine, leaving a puzzled Yzak standing there.

"And if you're still too stupid Jule, then leave her if you can." He said and left.

Yzak thought for a while. He looked up at the sky and sighed. He doesn't know what he would do but if Za Burrel said he'll be going with Lunamaria, then Shiho will wait around for nothing. He went back inside the house to think for a while. Will he go there and tell Shiho what Za Burrel did or just leave the situation as it is and just go to the dance alone? He chose to do the first one.

Meanwhile, at the Zala Manor, Athrun was in his room, tidying up his dark blue suit. He chose it over the green one that his mother was forcing him into for it's in the shade of plain green and he will surely look like a complete idiot going to the dance in green like some other nature-freak would do. He was beginning to feel nervous when suddenly, his father walked in.

"Athrun" Patrick Zala, the chairman of ZAFT said to his son in his usual hard tone and scary facial features.

"Father" Athrun replied in acknowledgement of his father's presence.

Patrick Zala roamed around his son's quite messy room and stopped by the window wherein the curtains are still drawn. Athrun was feeling a bit uneasy for it was like 7 years since his father's last visit to his room and he's expecting a lot of criticisms any time soon.

"Your first dance" he said and turned to him. Athrun was dumbfounded. It was like a harmful dinosaur just turned out to be a harmless bunny. "Son, I just hope you'll have a great time." Patrick Zala said and went over to his son to ruffle his hair and give him a light pat on the shoulder.

After that, his father went out again. Athrun was still thunderstruck. "My father talked to me?" he asked himself over and over again.

Meanwhile, Dearka was already dressed, clad in a suit in a dark hue and his untidy hair neat in place, the known Dearka Elthman was nowhere to be found. This Dearka seemed to have no trace of his messy and slobby personality. He was going through some stuff printed in paper that pretty much looked like a script.

"What should I say first?" he said, going through the stapled papers. "Oh… I should compliment first then open a conversation…" he was saying to himself. He printed the documents that have been downloaded from the internet from the file collection of some guy that entitled it as 'Steps in Impressing the Woman You Like'.

Tonight, he was as determined as ever to impress Miriallia.

On the other hand, Nicol was in his house, practicing the piece he was supposed to play with Lacus but then he absentmindedly started to play the song he had written for Natalie. A small smile crept up on his face at the thought of her going with him tonight. With another press on the piano key, he stopped and checked his watch for the time. It was already six thirty p.m.

Meanwhile, in the Hibiki mansion, the twins are just about prepared. Cagalli was in her room, grudgingly putting earrings and a necklace that her father gave her for her last birthday. Her hair was accented with loose ribbons (think of the usual hair-do Cagalli has, you know, with ribbons on the side? I just thought it was really the best hair-do on her… simple but elegant! –raikendai) that outlined her face. Kira on the other hand was looking at himself in the mirror at the living room, preparing to go to pick Lacus up when suddenly the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" he called out and opened the door; the butlers have already escorted Athrun through the gates.

"Hey Athrun!" Kira said. "Nice suit…" he commented.

"Thanks…" Athrun said. "You're not bad yourself!" he said and the boys exchanged a high five.

"Come in, I'll go get Cagalli…" he said as he motioned for Athrun to sit comfortably on the sofa near their house's entrance.

Athrun was twiddling with his fingers. "It's okay… it's just for tonight… don't get too nervous…" he mumbled to himself.

Kira ran down the stairs with a big smile on his face. "She's coming down…" he said.

Cagalli slowly went down the staircase, causing Athrun to jump to his feet in shock. She was clad in a halter long evening gown in a shade of light blue. It was accentuated with sequins neatly arranged in place. She had never looked so beautiful for she had always been the boyish type of girl. She wore a necklace with a diamond shaped like a butterfly as a pendant. Indeed, she looked very pretty. (use your imaginations here people ). Both boys had their jaws hanging.

"That's an impostor!" Kira said hysterically.

Athrun sweatdropped and so did Cagalli. "Geez Kira! I was trying to make a nice entrance here and you messed it up!" Cagalli said, putting her hands on her waist.

Athrun chuckled. "Just kidding sis! I've gotta go guys, I shouldn't keep Lacus waiting…" Kira said and winked at the two of them and went out of the door.

"Y-y-you look beautiful…" Athrun said, looking at her straight in the eyes. Cagalli blushed when suddenly an interruption occurred… her mother.

"Athrun dear! How are you?" Mrs. Hibiki said as she gave Athrun a light hug.

"Fine auntie." Athrun replied. "It's been a while since Kira last invited you to come over… and I can't believe you will be the one who will go out with my baby…" she said, pertaining to Cagalli.

Cagalli scowled. "Mom…" she said in a low voice.

The other two chuckled. "Fine then, take care of Cagalli, Athrun… and don't forget to bring her home safely…" Mrs. Hibiki said.

"Don't worry, I will…" Athrun said and with that, the two of them left.

They rode in Athrun's car, which he spent a fair part of his morning to clean. Cagalli was looking out of the window then glanced at Athrun.

Meanwhile, in the other side of town, Dearka was seated at the living room of the Haww residence, kind of feeling sorry for himself that he left his script in the backseat of the car. After much ado, Mirialla came out, dressed in a pink spaghetti-strapped long gown and what really caught people's eyes was her hair, it was different from what she usually worn everyday. It was tied in a half-ponytail and the lower strands were glittered and it was really breathtaking.

"Miriallia…" Dearka uttered. His script doesn't matter now. He concluded that when you're faced with the real thing, practicing will mean nothing.

"Hey…" Miriallia said, confused of his reaction. Dearka was just staring at her as if she's some kind of picture from a magazine. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

Dearka shook his head to stop acting like a complete lunatic. "I-I'm sorry… uhm… you're very pretty tonight Miriallia…" he said and tried to smile.

Miriallia giggled. "Let's just go… you wouldn't want to get in an interview session with my mother again…" she said, taking his hand and leading him out of the house.

Dearka looked at his hand grasped within hers and found it hard to breathe. It was the first time he ever got this close to a girl.

Nicol on the other hand was already in front of Natalie's house but still, he wasn't ringing the bell. He was walking back and forth.

"What should I say… what?" he mumbled then suddenly, the door opened and revealed the metallic-blue-haired girl dressed in a one-shoulder long gown in a blue-gray shade that clashed with her hair color. Her long hair was tied in a half ponytail but instead of a scrunchie, she used a silver barette to tie half of her hair.

"Nicol!" she said, rushing to the gate, opening it to let him go in. "What are you doing staying out here?" she asked him, restraining her laughter.

"Well… I…" he stammered for the right words.

"Shall we go now, then?" Natalie asked him.

"Oh, yeah… are you ready?" Nicol asked, he cannot take his eyes off her.

"Yup… c'mon!" she said then they proceeded to Nicol's car.

Meanwhile, Kira was waiting for Lacus at the Mansion's living room. He fidgeted anxiously then after some time, Lacus went down. She looked like a perfect angel with her turquoise strapless dress and her hair tied in a ponytail. (remember the one she had in gundam seed? The one with the braid as the ponytail? That one!)

"Hello Kira…" she said and smiled sweetly.

Kira was in a loss of words but he tried to speak. "You look fabulous…"

"I'll take that as a compliment… shall we go?" she asked him and he nodded and they went to the party in Kira's car.

As for Shiho, she just remained in her room, thinking of what may happen tonight. She gently combed her long brown hair and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"Stupid… why the hell did you say yes to Za Burrel?" she cursed herself for doing so.

Her bangs were tucked with a clip and her hair was arranged in a sort of half-ponytail but it's not tied, a braid was did to keep it that way. It was simple but a really elegant way to do with her hair. Her mother was very happy and repeated over and over how pretty she looked especially with her strapless lavender long gown that was accentuated with a pattern of sequins. She promised herself to go home early for she doesn't want to be stuck all night with Rey Za Burrel.

Her mother knocked on the door and came in. "Honey, there's a boy waiting for you downstairs… he looks handsome!" her mother said.

Shiho rolled her eyes. "Oh puh-leez… give me break…" she mumbled and slowly went down the stairs and looked up to see someone else standing at the foot of the stairs, with his back to her.

She nearly slipped due to shock but composed herself. "Yzak?" she asked and he turned around.

He did not know what to say. He had to admit she looked strikingly beautiful and he couldn't hide the blush on his cheeks.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Za Burrel told me you might need a date tonight…" he said, staring at his feet.

It was Shiho's turn to blush. She can't believe Rey would do such a thing and that Yzak would ever oblige to what he says. "But… I don't understand… I…" she muttered.

"Then don't bother understanding it." Yzak said flatly.

Shiho raised a brow on him. She missed their usual bickering and was happy to be in one again. She smiled to herself. Yzak was getting impatient about just looking down at his feet and so he looked up.

"So are you going or what?" he asked with a smirk.

"Fine." Shiho said, pretending to be irritated but deep inside, she was really happy and from then on believed that miracles do happen.

Meanwhile, Mia and Fllay were at the Alster Manor, dressing up and preparing to go. Mia will be going with Yuuna Roma, the one that Cagalli dumped and Fllay was going with a guy who was courting her, Sai Argyle. Mia dreaded the fact that she will be going with someone whom the girl she hated the most dumped for the guy she wanted to have. Fllay on the other hand did not mind, as long as she won't go to the dance alone.

"Keep this in mind Mia, this is the day we destroy them." Fllay said with a wicked smile.

For a while there, Mia was getting tired of all these scheming that never equaled to success but she thought it would not do her any good if she argues with Fllay.

"Uh-huh…" she said and combed her hair as Fllay criticized her outfit.

Once everybody was at the gym, Mr. La Flaga gave the opening remarks for the dance. It was quite a long speech though. The group was huddled up in a table, far away from Mia and Fllay's. Almost every student present in the gym was fussing about how they look and who their dates are but in this particular table, fun is abound for Dearka just can't stop cracking jokes about Mr. La Flaga. After his speech, Ms. Ramius took over and a soft music played.

The first dance of the evening.

Silence encapsulated the atmosphere around the table. Kira looked around. Some students are already in the wide dance floor, dancing sweetly to the music. He caught Nicol's eye but he gave no reaction. The girls were just staring at one another and kept quiet. Kira swallowed and gathered all his courage to ask Lacus to dance. He offered his hand to her.

"Wanna dance?" he asked and smiled. Lacus looked at Cagalli beside her who gave her a slight push to stand up. In less than a minute, both of them were already dancing.

"Aww… I wish I had my camera…" Miriallia said, looking at the two lovebirds dancing there.

Then it was Dearka's turn to offer a hand and ask Miriallia to dance. "Uhm… c'mon, let's dance." He said, not looking at her in order to hide his reddening face. Miriallia was surprised he even knew how to dance and she took his waiting hand. "Sure" she said and the both of them proceeded to the dancefloor.

Nicol was conditioning himself for this when suddenly, something unexpected happened. It was Natalie who asked him to dance. She tugged on his arm excitedly. "Let's dance!" she said and pulled him there.

Athrun and Cagalli laughed at Nicol who looked utterly astonished with what happened. Then realization hit Athrun. He looked at Shiho who was tearing up pieces of tissue paper as Yzak drummed his fingers on the table. He sighed.

"_One… two… three!"_ Athrun counted in his mind. "You wanna dance out there Cagalli?" he asked and smiled. Cagalli was taken aback. "Huh?" she asked absentmindedly. "Come, let's dance." Athrun said again.

Cagalli was out of words. First, she was forced into dressing up for this particular occasion and now she had to dance. Athrun chuckled at the blonde-haired girl beside him and took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Shiho and Yzak realized they were the only ones left in their table. Shiho looked around. Even the teachers were dancing around and out of all the students, almost ten were still seated down. Yzak realized it too.

"_Should I? How will I?"_ he was asking himself when suddenly, a guy approached. Yzak gulped. _"Damn it! Don't ask her to dance you moron! I'm just trying to take control of the situation!" _Yzak thought as he looked at the guy the same time Shiho did.

"Hey… do you want to dance?" the guy asked Shiho. He looked nice but somehow, Shiho did not feel like dancing at the moment.

Yzak felt crushed. For the second time, another guy got ahead of him but call it coincidence, Shiho refused. "Sorry, I just don't feel like dancing at the moment… maybe later." She said cordially. The guy was disappointed but left with a smile.

"Why did you turn him down?" Yzak asked her curiously.

"_Damn it! This guy certainly can't understand why I did that… urgh!"_ Shiho thought in her mind. She sighed and said, "I'll go out for a while." By that, she left Yzak.

"Was it something that I said?" he asked himself and after a few minutes of thinking, he followed Shiho outside.

As for the others in the dance floor, they are certainly having fun. Kira and Lacus were dancing sweetly and obviously in the verge of falling in love. Nicol and Natalie were just hanging around and dancing and having fun. As for Dearka, he could notspeak. All he seems to be doing is to look at Miriallia.

"Uh... are you okay Dearka?" she asked him.

Dearka was shaken back to reality. "Oh... yeah... i'm perfectly fine." he said.

Miriallia giggled. Even if he doesn't speak that much this time, still she knows she's having fun. Athrun and Cagalli on the other hand were just fooling around for neither of them are really experts when it comes to dancing.

"Don't you think we should go and sit down instead?" Cagalli said, both of them restraining their laughter. "We don't even know how to dance!" she added.

Athrun chuckled. "Let it be! At least we had the guts to walk up here!" he said and they laughed again. "And you're with me..." he whispered.

"Huh? Speak louder, can't hear you... the music's a bit too loud..." she said, obviously, she did not hear what he just said. Athrun just smiled. He thought that at some point, he better not say it again. "It's nothing... don't mind it..." he said and they continued dancing.

Mia was getting tired of Fllay being so obsessed in getting back at Lacus and she was starting to feel like giving up on Athrun; he doesn't like her one bit so why bother? But still, she can't help but feel very jealous whenever the two of them are together. Plus, she's starting to feel sympathetic for Sai who's drop-dead head over heels for Fllay.

It was starting to rain and it can be seen through the windows but the students did not mind it at all... only one person did seem to mind...

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haha! cliffie! i'll continue it on the next chapter... now who could that person be, huh? hehehe... watch out for chapter ten, the rest of the dance will be told there! anyway, feel free to send me reviews and speak your mind... haha! i accept anything... as long as you don't give me death threats! please review! thanks! 


	10. a night of revelations

finally! chapter ten! it took me a while to upload this since i got so busy, i celebrated my fifteenth birthday yesterday... haha! sorry if i took so long... i racked my brain for ideas! please review!

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny**

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Shiho went out of the gym. She felt the cold atmosphere embalm around her and she consciously tried to keep herself warm by wrapping her arms around herself. She did not want to join in the fun inside, for some reason, all she wants is to be alone. For once she felt as if she's running head over heels for a certain guy who obviously doesn't care as much about her. With a single intake of air before she sighs, she took a step forward but careful enough not to walk farther away from the roof or else she'll get herself wet.

"Maybe I was wrong…" she mumbled and stretched out her hand and felt the raindrops trickle on it.

As she was standing there, unknown to her, there was a person standing behind her. He too, was thinking to himself as he watched her get her hand wet in the rain. Suddenly, realization hit him. Perhaps she's getting cold. He quickly removed his coat and without warning, put it around her causing her to jump in surprise.

"Yzak!" she almost yelled. "W-what are you doing?" she said in confusion.

"I just thought you might be feeling cold." He said without looking at her. "And maybe you would want some company." He said, still looking down.

Shiho did not know what to say. Strange. It seemed like this was something she really did not expect to happen at all, him, giving her something to keep her warm and even going out just to provide her company. This certainly is not the Yzak Jule she knew.

"Look, you don't have to do this. I'm fine by myself. Why don't you go inside? I'm not forcing you to stand here with me." She said reluctantly but deep inside her she doesn't want him to leave.

"I know I'm not good at expressing feelings but don't judge me only by what I let you see." He said and finally looked at her. He looked as serious as ever.

Shiho was taken aback. She did not expect such words to come from someone like Yzak Jule. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to offend you…" she said and tried to apologize.

"It's okay. I just have to tell you so…" he said and smiled a bit. "It's cold out here, especially for you. Wanna go back now?" he said and offered his hand for her to hold.

Shiho turned red in an instant. Yzak noticed it and chuckled slightly and took her hand and the two of them walked back inside. Still, Shiho was bugged by what was happening for it really wasn't like Yzak to show any signs of neither sweetness nor concern for anyone. At that precise moment, all she wanted to do was get inside his brain just to know what exactly is going on in there that made him treat her like someone who is worthy enough for some special attention from him.

Meanwhile, Nicol and Natalie were already at the buffet line, eager to taste the night's specialty. The two of them got their plates at the end of the long table, Nicol passed one to Natalie.

"Thanks!" she said gleefully and accepted it.

Nicol felt happy. He remembered him and the boys back when the school was still exclusive for boys. Back when he never knew a thing about girls. He remembered Dearka swearing he's too young to even think of such thing and Kira teasing him that he'll be getting his first girlfriend by the time he reaches forty. Yes he admitted he was still a kid at heart, yearning to enjoy life as a youth but it won't hurt to take a shot on love along the way.

"Hey! I love these!" Natalie exclaimed as they passed by the fruit kebabs. She got a rather large helping of it.

"Is that all you're going to eat!" Nicol said sarcastically as to see half of her plate full of those fruits stuck on a stick.

"Maybe!" she said and made her way through getting other foods.

Nicol got himself two sticks of her so-called favorite that in his opinion was meant for dessert and followed her to the other platters.

Meanwhile, Dearka and Miriallia were still at the dance floor. Dearka was not much of a dancer and Miriallia knew perfectly the art of dancing. All Dearka can dance to was sweet music. Miriallia was determined to teach him.

"Aw Miriallia! I'm tired…" Dearka whined as Miriallia guided him by the hand.

"C'mon Dearka! This is so much fun!" the brunette said happily.

After a few tries, Dearka knew quite a bit more dance steps than he bargained for. He can actually ride on to Miriallia's method of dancing. After a while, the two of them are tired out and decided to follow Nicol and Natalie at the buffet table. Absentmindedly, Miriallia walked on, still holding Dearka's hand. As the two of them walked by, they passed two girls whispering and looking at Miriallia in a bad way. Dearka glared at them and then looked at his hand and hers. He smiled. He'd rather keep it that way.

"Oh look! The two of them are on their way to the table… we better fall in line now…" she said, still not letting go.

"Oh… right." He said and met the eyes of Nicol and Natalie. The other two saw them holding hands and started throwing Dearka knowing looks. The blonde coordinator instantly turned scarlet.

For a while now, Dearka is deeply drawn to Miriallia. He can't get her out of his head like some virus getting on his system. He simply adored her and all he felt like doing this time is spend the whole night with her and somehow, get to know Miriallia even behind the smiles she always showed everyone.

"What's wrong with you?" Miriallia said. She looked so cute when she raised her brow at Dearka.

"Nothing's wrong, come on!" Dearka said, deciding he's having too much fun to even mind the people around him.

The two of them proceeded to the buffet table, joking around as they put a heaping pile on their plates. Dearka was amazed that Miriallia can finish all those. She's incredible.

As for Athrun and Cagalli, the two of them went out for a while since the rain appeared to be nearing its stop. They walked out on the wet field. Cagalli struggled to keep her dress warm and so she lifted up the end of it and held it tightly in her hand. Athrun liked her outgoing personality. Although she isn't such a girl, she's not afraid to try things no matter how it should be done. And now, Cagalli walked at the wet grass with him even if she's in a struggle to keep her dress dry.

"You wanna go back?" Athrun asked her. "You might wet your dress entirely." He said.

"Nope! I'm perfectly fine…" She said and felt if her dress was as wet. "Plus it's nice to walk around at night, you see how the moon shines down…" she said sentimentally.

Athrun smiled. This is what he liked about her. She has her own mind and she knows how to dream. And not only that, he also liked her sometimes stubborn and hotheaded attitude. But above all, he likes her as who she is.

"Uh… you're starting to freak me out with that creepy smile of yours Zala." Cagalli said, looking at him in a funny way and laughed.

Athrun laughed at her too. She's headstrong yet sensitive and delicate. Then he knew that Cagalli isn't just a friend to him. She's something special, something different.

"Why? Something wrong with smiling?" Athrun said mockingly and watched Cagalli looked up at the clearing dark skies.

"Beautiful isn't it?" she began and breathed in the cold air around. "You know, I have always loved to look at how the clouds clear away after the rain… and actually, this is the first time I really looked at it at night." She told him fondly and looked up again.

"So you mean… you always saw it during the day, eh?" Athrun said to her and she nodded happily.

"We better go back, we don't want to miss Lacus' performance." Cagalli said and started to walk away but due to the slippery ground, she tripped.

With his coordinator reflexes, Athrun came just in time to save her from totally destroying her outfit.

"Gotcha…" he said, helping her stand up.

"Uh… thanks… that was embarrassing!" she said confidently as if she wasn't really embarrassed.

Athrun chuckled. "Here…" he said, holding her arm gently to support her as they walked back to the gym. "I better help you or you might trip again…" he said.

Cagalli scowled. "It's not like I'm limp Zala!" she retorted but Athrun ignored her. "Thanks… anyway." She said and looked the other way.

Athurn smiled. "No problem" he said.

Meanwhile, in the backstage, Lacus was rehearsing her piece all by herself. She told Kira to go on and enjoy the party without her for a while. Kira obliged hesitantly when she told him to. Suddenly, Lacus felt a presence lurking around her.

"Hey!" it was Kira. He was holding a bottle of water and a croissant in a plate.

Lacus was surprised. "Kira! What are you doing here with that?" she asked him.

"Well, how can I expect you to sing with an empty stomach? You better eat…" he said and placed the food on a nearby table. "Don't worry, these won't affect your voice… the croissant is pure bread without fillings." He guaranteed her.

The songstress smiled. She was touched by what Kira did. "It's very thoughtful and kind of you Kira… thank you." She said and smiled. "I see I better do a good job!" she said.

The two of them laughed. Kira was entertaining Lacus as she ate by trying desperately to sing the song. But try as he might, he couldn't get it right. He was a terrible singer but Lacus had fun watching him try and put a one-man show. Kira stopped and smiled. He stared at her as she continued to giggle at him. She looked so adorable doing that. It was just her simple gestures that make him like her so much.

"Thank you very much Kira. I'm really happy I agreed to go with you tonight." She said as she finished eating her food.

Kira turned red and started to stammer like a complete idiot. "Oh… uh… t-that's okay Lacus… I… uhm… I'm glad you're enjoying." He managed to say.

Kira helped her to practice the song until not long after when Nicol came, holding a file that looked like some musical piece. The green-haired boy greeted the two of them with glee and excitement.

"I hope I'll get everything right…" he said and the three of them chuckled.

"Don't worry Nicol, we'll get through this!" Lacus said, patting Nicol's shoulder.

Kira chuckled. "Well then I guess I should get going now and leave the two of you to get your last minutes adjustments! Good luck!" Kira said and went out.

"See ya later!" Lacus called out to him and he went on his way out.

Kira saw the rest of his friends seated at their table. Dearka and Miriallia were happily helping themselves to their dinner. Athrun and Cagalli were sort of laughing about something that Athrun is teasing Cagalli about. Shiho looked happy now, she's like mocking Yzak about something that made the silver-haired boy scowl and snarl at her but she didn't seem to mind. Kira looked at them and was glad to see that they are having fun. Natalie on the other hand sat there, occasionally laughing at whenever Yzak gets mad. Kira took the vacant seat beside her and opened a conversation with her.

"Hey… I see Nicol's determined to show you what he's made of!" Kira said, nudging Natalie on the arm playfully.

Natalie stuck out her tongue on him. "What makes you say that?" she asked sarcastically.

Kira laughed for a bit. "You know, Nicol have always been into punk rock but he's a trained classical music player… some even say he's a child prodigy on how he played the piano magnificently." Kira told her and her eyes widened in astonishment.

"I did not know about that…" she said in amazement, her mouth hanging open.

Not far from there, Mia and Fllay were alone in their table for Fllay told Sai to get her food. Mia threw Fllay an annoyed look whenever she would be blurting out curses every now and then. Mia was already feeling tired about scheming over nothing. She looked at Athrun, the guy whom she really liked. He seemed to be having fun with Cagalli and though it hurts her, something inside her knew all she can do is give up. There's no use putting up for nothing at all. Fllay on the other hand still won't give up especially now that Lacus was standing at the stage. Mia looked at her and admitted that she was indeed pretty and flattered herself for she looked like her, only that Lacus looked more elegant than her.

"Damn that bitch!" Fllay said, stomping her foot angrily at the floor, causing some other students from the other table to look at her.

"Keep it down will you Fllay!" Mia said irritably. "Whatever you do, Kira won't notice you so stop acting like a trying hard bitch!" Mia said, now she's determined to tell Fllay she's going obsessed about all these.

Fllay shot her a deathly glare. "You mean you're actually going to put up with that good-girl attitude of yours! As if they'd believe you there darling Mia!" she said wickedly.

Mia breathed heavily for a while and looked at Fllay, her eyes turning into slits. "Look, I'm starting to dread the fact that I ever let you boss me around! You always think you're so good but you're not! You're not as good as you think Fllay and I'm getting sick of trying to abide to what you say when nothing really happens!" Mia said, trying desperately to keep her voice down so that they would not get as much attention.

Fllay just looked at her as if she just said something ridiculous. "You think you can do without me Mia?" she said as if she's certain that Mia can't live through highschool without her.

"Watch me Fllay! We're through!" Mia said and stood up and as she did, bumped into Sai who looked confused.

Mia took the food tray from Sai and slammed it in front of Fllay. "Here, pig out by yourself!" she said and dragged Sai away. "Let's go Sai, it's not such a wise thing to do hanging out with this filthy creature!" Mia said and she and Sai left.

After seating in quite a far table, Sai asked Mia on why she did that. "Honestly Sai, do you want to be bossed around by that freaking woman and look like a total idiot!" Mia said angrily and Sai shut up.

Back at their table, Kira and the others waited patiently for Lacus and Nicol to start. They are making some necessary adjustments and gave the others a cheery wave. Cagalli mouthed something more of a good luck for the two. Moments after, Ms. Ramius went up the stage and introduced them. She also informed the students that they can dance to the music if they wanted to and so many students are already propped up at the dance floor.

There was a sudden twinkle in Miriallia's eyes at the thought of dancing. Dearka pretended not to have noticed it and took a gulp from his fruit punch.

"Oh! I wanna go there!" Miriallia said happily.

"_I'm dead…"_ Dearka thought hopelessly but then again, he really did want to dance with her.

And so the two of them went there leaving their awestruck friends looking at them knowingly. At the sound of the keys being pressed on at the piano, Lacus started to sing a very heartfelt song. All the lovers seemed to be a little too sweet dancing there that made Yzak feel like he could puke anytime soon.

_Tonight it's been a year_

_We met each other here_

_Here I am_

_All alone_

_As thoughts of you go on_

Lacus sang sweetly. Cagalli just listened intently, taking in the song and its melody. She felt like the words are just as relaxing as the lyrics. Shiho was doing the same, only that she can't help looking at Miriallia and Dearka from time to time. Dearka isn't the sweetest guy in the world but he sure is going out of his way just to make Miriallia happy tonight. She just wished that somehow Yzak will be more like him, asking her to dance. She darted her eyes back to Nicol and Lacus on stage. Natalie was listening to Lacus' sweet voice and was looking at Nicol at the same time.

"You're very different… yet you're just the way you are." She said to herself at the thought of Nicol.

_Hear me crying out to you_

_You said never, never would I leave_

_Here's a tear from me to you_

_And maybe it will make you hear me_

Kira was looking at Lacus and can't deny how breathtaking the pink-haired songstress was this night. When her eyes met his, he can tell she smiled while she sang and he was glad she did. Nicol was seriously playing the piano and when he looked at the audience, his eyes automatically searched for Natalie and found her looking at him too. Natalie waved at him and he stifled a soft nod and smiled in return. Athrun was watching the performance but something different was going inside his mind. Cagalli. He's thinking of her, right there, sitting beside him and he felt like he could not ask for anything more in this world than to listen to that song and sit beside her the whole time. Yzak on the other hand, was feeling a bit uneasy for the silver-haired coordinator was never used to these kinds of gatherings, especially the sweet-serenading parts.

_I loved you_

_You didn't feel the same_

_Though we're apart_

_You're in my heart_

_Give me one more chance to_

_Make it real_

On the contrary, Miriallia and Dearka did not seem to mind whether everyone's enjoying or not, all they cared about was that moment, that precise time on this particular dance floor, with the two of them looking eye to eye.

Miriallia looked at Lacus, and smiled. She glanced at her friends at their table and saw Shiho smiling at her. _"I like you Dearka…"_ the voice at the back of her head said and she couldn't help but to agree.

_In a dream_

_You are here_

_You smile and hold me near_

_And in my heart_

_I'll pretend_

_That you are here again_

Odd as it may seem when people fall for each other in just a short time. Some even say that young people particularly teenagers don't fall in love, they don't know what love is. But that just has to be wrong especially if it will pertain to these youngsters here, their eyes being open to the hurts of this world they are living in. Funny as it is, sometimes you just have to bend and to try and be open with your feelings and who knows, maybe there's something more yet to be seen.

_Hear me crying out to you_

_You said never, never would I leave_

_Here's a tear from me to you_

_And maybe it will make you hear me_

Lacus sang as sweet as ever and the students were surprised to see Mr. La Flaga and Ms. Ramius dancing at the dance floor. Dearka was already holding back his laughter when Miriallia stepped on his foot to make him hide it.

"Hey look at them!" Kira said and pointed to Mr. La Flaga and Ms. Ramius then laughed out a bit.

"Aww… they look so cute!" Cagalli said dreamily as they looked at their teachers dancing there.

"Uh… duh… they're teachers, what's so cute about that?"  
Yzak snorted at Cagalli but she did not mind him.

"Well at least Mr. La Flaga exerted an effort to ask Ms. Ramius to dance, unlike you…" Natalie said to Yzak who turned red. Shiho's eyes widened in surprise.

"Way to go Nat!" Athrun said and Yzak glared at him for doing so.

_I loved you_

_You didn't feel the same_

_Though we're apart_

_You're in my heart_

_Give me one more chance to_

_Make it real_

They were silent for a while and were surprised to see Fllay approaching. Cagalli, Shiho and Natalie instantly switched to bad mood and Kira felt his blood rising to it's boiling point at the sight of her. She flipped her hair as she stood beside Kira. Lacus could be seen looking at them as she finished the song. Athrun and Yzak were exchanging looks of annoyance when Fllay arrived.

"What do you want Alster?" Cagalli snarled at her.

Fllay smirked evilly at Cagalli. "It's not you who I'm here for Attha, so don't act like you're someone so important…" she said. Cagalli was about to throw the contents of her wine glass at Fllay but Athrun held her back. "I'm here to ask Kira to dance…" she said.

"As if anyone would want to dance with you…" Shiho said out loud, wanting her to hear what kind of rubbish she is.

"She's right. Thanks for the offer but I don't want to dance with you." Kira said and faked a smile at Fllay then stood up to go to the backstage to find Lacus, leaving Fllay standing there idly.

"What are you waiting for, Christmas? You can go now." Natalie said coldly and just like ice, the words hit Fllay as a sign of defeat.

"You may have one this time, but you are so not gonna ruin my night!" she said in the brink of tears.

"Mia left you now, didn't she? Good for her…" Yzak commented, seeing Mia, hanging out with quite a different set of folks. "I bet she realized you're someone worth ditching!" he added.

That pulled Fllay's trigger. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "You'll pay for this… all of you, for ruining this night of mine!" she said angrily.

"Oh we will of you want… how much would you want us to pay?" Athrun said mockingly, bringing out his wallet to offer her money.

This angered Fllay even more. "I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT MONEY, ZALA!" she bellowed and ran away.

Everyone who saw the incident was laughing their heads off. Kira and the other two witnessed Athrun's idea of a joke too and were laughing out loud, praising Athrun for that witty attitude of his.

"You are so funny! You made her look like a complete idiot!" Nicol said, giving Athrun a high five as the rest continued to laugh.

Dearka and Miriallia were approaching and asked what happened that all of them were laughing like crazy. Natalie told them all about it and even they laughed at the thought of Fllay's reaction.

"I should have seen that!" Miriallia said regretfully and joined in the laughter as they recalled Fllay's reaction.

For the remaining hours of the night, they danced, they ate, they told jokes and pretty much enjoyed the time. And when Ms. Ramius called out for the last dance of the night, Dearka and Miriallia were automatically at the dance floor for the first call. Lacus and Kira followed suit and so did Nicol and Natalie. It took a while for Athrun to ask Cagalli to dance since he got a bit shy but he pulled through, and he was even lucky that Cagalli was more than willing to dance with him. And as usual, Yzak and Shiho were left at the table.

Shiho sighed. _"This guy's not gonna make a move…"_ she thought and scratched her arm.

"_This is your last chance to dance with her! You are a big dumbass if you blow it again"_ Yzak thought and within a split-second, it seemed as if the world stopped and Yzak offered his hand to her.

At first, Shiho did not have clue on his motive in doing so and so she asked, "Uh… what's that for?". Yzak scowled. _"Damn… stop acting like you don't know Shiho!"_ he wanted so bad to say but instead he said, "You… uhm… wanna dance?"

Shiho felt like jumping and saying 'at last!' but instead, she just smiled and took his hand. It's not everyday a guy as stubborn as Yzak Jule would ever ask a girl to dance, especially if almost the whole school could see them. And so they went over there, near Kira and Lacus and danced.

"Fancy seeing you here Yzak…" Kira said sarcastically as Lacus giggled.

"Shut up" Yzak said grudgingly at him and focused on dancing with Shiho.

The rest of that last dance went by so fast and it was already time to go home. Everyone filed out of the gym, mostly by pairs or by couples. The teachers said to leave the cleaning to the janitors and that everyone is wished to get home safely. After-parties were prohibited causing disappointment particularly to the senior batch who already planned they own after-party.

Before departing, the boys waited for the girls outside the gym for they are still inside the bathroom. Yzak was being ridiculed for being such a wimp asking Shiho to dance at the last minute. Dearka was being teased for dancing with Miriallia the whole night. Kira was joking about Fllay along with Athrun and Nicol.

As for the girls, they are just about done fixing themselves. Miriallia was proudly telling the other four of how a great dancer Dearka was and Shiho complaining of what a wimp Yzak was. Cagalli was just telling them about what Athrun did and so did Natalie and Lacus. The other three would pretty much leave some details behind in order not to get into a pit of teasing once again.

When they got out of the gym, the boys were laughing around, talking about some stuff.

"I wish I took a picture of Mr. La Flaga dancing with Ms. Ramius! I'll have it published in the school paper!" Athrun said and the others laughed around again.

"I did not know you had a knack for telling jokes Athrun…" Cagalli said, giving him a slight whack on the head. Athrun could've avoided it easily but he chose to let her, even Cagalli hurting him physically made him happy.

They all agreed to go home. Athrun will be taking Cagalli since Kira was using their car to give Lacus a ride home. Dearka will be bringing Miriallia home and so do Nicol to Natalie. Yzak was left no choice but to do the same to Shiho, then again he really do want to.

Fllay was already at her house, crying her heart out and Mia hooked up with Sai on her way home. It pretty much ended the partnership between them. Rey had the best night with Lunamaria and was glad he had nothing to do with the witches, not now that they went their separate ways.

* * *

Athrun stopped the car in front of Cagalli's house and saw her sleeping soundly beside him. He did not want to wake her up for as Kira said she gets really grumpy if you wake her up in the middle of a good sleep but he has to do so. Cagalli rubbed the sleep off her eye as she woke up.

"Oh… I guess I got tired…" she said. "Thanks for giving me a ride home." She said and smiled.

"No problem…" Athrun said and smiled. He went down and opened the door for Cagalli and held her hand to assist her as she gets down from the car.

Cagalli smirked. "Well I guess there's another thing I did not know about you…" she said and paused. "You proved that chivalry isn't as dead as others claim!" she said and both of them laughed a bit.

"And I didn't know you can crack jokes like I do…" he said, letting go of her hand.

Before Cagalli enters the house, she ran back to Athrun and hugged him tight. Athrun was as stiff as a board but returned the embrace. "Thank you Athrun, I had fun." She said and let go.

She then entered the mansion and waved at Athrun just before she closed the door. Athrun waved back and went back to his car to drive home; feeling like this was the happiest night of his life.

Meanwhile, Dearka was in front of Miriallia's house and opened the gate for her. Then just before they say their goodbyes, Miriallia stood on tiptoe and gave him a peck on the cheek. Dearka felt his legs go numb and it seemed like fireworks were hovering above them.

"Thanks for the night Dearka… I enjoyed the time with you." She said sweetly. Dearka was still speechless. It was the first time he ever got a kiss from a girl aside from his mother, his grandmother or any member of his family.

"It's my pleasure Miriallia… goodnight." He said and watched her close the door behind her as she entered the house.

As for Nicol, he apologized for leaving Natalie to fulfill his duties in performing a song with Lacus as they stood outside Natalie's house and talk about some stuff.

"It's not a problem Nicol, you were great up there." Natalie said and smiled sincerely.

"Oh by the way… I have something for you…" he said and dug into his pocket for something.

It was a neat red box and he opened it for her. Inside was a necklace with a star pendant. Natalie was shocked to see it. "Uhm… Lacus told me about this, she said you two passed this on the jewelry shop and you somehow fell in love with it…" he said and chuckled.

Just then, she flung her arms around him. "Thank you so much!" she said and let go of the brief embrace. "I have always wanted to have this… thank you for even bothering to give me something… and where did you get the money to buy this? This is quite expensive!" Natalie said.

"Don't worry about it… I saved my money for it." he said. "You better go in now, it's getting cold out here." He said.

"Thanks a lot Nicol, I'll never forget this night." She said and kissed him on the cheek. In an instant, Nicol turned into a walking Christmas-motif for having green hair and red cheeks.

Natalie went inside and he drove happily all the way back to his house.

However, Kira and Lacus' night was a bit more glittered with development. As they stood outside the house, Lacus said something that Kira did not expect to come from her.

"You know what Kira?" she began and looked at him straight in the eye. "I like you and I'm more than thankful that it's you that I spend this night with." She said.

Kira was thunderstruck but nevertheless, admitted his feelings for her too. "I like you too Lacus, I like you a lot." He said.

After finally admitting their feelings for each other, Lacus went inside the house and Kira went back to his car. He drummed his fingers happily at the steering wheel and shouted words of triumph as he drove away.

As for Yzak, he wanted so badly to apologize to Shiho for being such a big jerk. Just before she goes in, he held her back and bowed his head.

"I am so sorry Shiho. I did not mean to act so cold when I should've let you enjoy this night. Sorry if I was so stupid." He said.

By this simple apology, Shiho felt like he already made up for what he did a while ago. She held his hand and shook her head. "No, you don't have to apologize. I understand. It's not your personality to do so and you don't have to try as hard just to prove that you can do what your friends can do. You're better off being you." Shiho said.

This made Yzak smile. No other person in this world made him smile ever in his entire life. "Thank you." He said simply and she went inside the house and said goodbye and goodnight to the silver-haired boy.

He waved goodbye and went away, feeling like a great burden have been raised from him. He finally knew that even if he was the meanest, coldest and most stupid jerk in the entire universe, someone will still accept him as him and that could be enough.

* * *

gah! i am so sorry if i blew this chapter... it's kinda long though... took me a while to write this one! haha! i just hope you enjoyed it... send me a review and speak your mind... thanks by the way to the people who reviewed! love you guys! 


	11. midterm next week!

at long last! an update! hahahaha! i did not have that much time to update... i've been busy with all that schoolwork! and thanks for the reviews... eternalflames, kari480, cathrun... jenniferseedlover...mxc... and all the others... ei! anonymous gsd! hahah! thanks for the wonderful reviews... haha! so here it is, chapter eleven...

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny**

**notes: you'll realize that Natalie isn't an ordinary student here... **

* * *

For the whole morning, the girls have been talking nonstop about what happened in the dance and the chatting marathon even went on and on up to lunch time as they ate at the cafeteria. Cagalli was getting giddy at the fact that her so-called younger twin brother growing up and liking a girl. The girls are all getting excited at the thought of Miriallia kissing Dearka and Nicol giving Natalie a necklace, and also of Athrun and Cagalli having such a great time together and Yzak's attitude adjustment towards Shiho. It was like they just spent the golden night of their lives that night. Over the weekend they discussed every single detail on the phone and on the internet and up to this sunny Monday morning.

"My brother… he's growing up!" Cagalli said, nearly in tears. Lacus sweatdropped and patted Cagalli on the shoulder. Lacus was a bit shy when it comes to talking about her and Kira but she has no choice but to spill since Cagalli's her friend.

Miriallia's giggling around with Natalie and pressing in the issue between Kira and Lacus. They were having a lot of fun talking about stuff until the principal's voice echoed all through the school through speakers for some important announcements.

"Good afternoon everyone! I wish to inform you that your midterm exams will be due next week, so you shall have this whole week to catch up with your lessons and for reviews. That would be all, thank you." And the principal's voice was gone.

Almost all the students fell into an utterly silence. The horrid midterm exams are approaching and they have forgotten all about it. Almost all of them have been too absorbed in the dance and all other stuff and forgot they still have to study for the big test. This is most unnerving for the senior and junior batches. For the seniors, it will be their make-or-break for college and for the juniors, their make-or-break for senior year and so it will be like the most stressful events every exam week.

On the boys' table, they looked awfully distressed. Kira couldn't focus on eating and Dearka lost his appetite. Athrun stared down, racking his brain for some sense. Yzak was cursing the whole faculty under his breath and Nicol's eyebrows were furrowing and he was fuming with irritation.

"Why the hell do we need to put up with all those rubbish, anyway?" Dearka whined angrily. "That's just a waste of time! Isn't it proof that we're smart enough to have entered this school?" he added and slammed his fist angrily on the table.

"No, apparently it's not. Obviously it's not." Nicol shrugged, still furious about the exams being due the week after.

"The dance was just done and it would have been the night of my life for this year but heck no, this exam thing is ruining everything for me." Kira complained, ruffling his own hair in annoyance.

"I just hate exams…" Athrun muttered and buried his face in his hands and felt Yzak stomp hard on the floor just beside him. "Stop that Yzak, you're parents won't be pleased if you break another school property." Athrun said, looking up at the silver-haired boy next to him.

"What the heck do you care Zala?" he said angrily and stomped harder, causing some to turn their attention on them. "And what are you looking at?" he snarled at the onlookers.

They just turned their attention to themselves. Nicol was in defense of Athrun by his statement. "Athrun's right, Yzak. All of us will undergo exams and all…" he said simply, causing Dearka's mouth to twitch again.

Suddenly, they saw Cagalli and the girls walking their way, apparently walking out of the cafeteria. Cagalli patted Kira's head in dismay and Kira just gave an acknowledging nod to his twin. The rest of them just passed and smiled weakly. It will be one heck of a week to study and to either receive a failing or a passing grade. Being a straight-A student isn't as easy as it was way back in middle school than it is now in high school.

After lunch, almost all the students in the class were very quiet and you could only hear pens scratching on papers alongside the teacher's voice. Chemistry period have been pretty unnerving for Athrun since he doesn't really have a knack for Chemistry and all but for Cagalli, she enjoyed practically every minute of the period, taking down as much notes as she can. Athrun knew he had to ask for her help in order to pass or else, his father might fire a bazooka straight at him.

"Uhm… Cagalli?" he asked as he cleared his throat to speak. He was fidgeting uneasily as he continued to speak. "Y-you know perfectly well how I blow up chemistry… can I ask for help?" he asked her.

Cagalli giggled at him, admitting that he hates the subject. "Sure… but don't expect as much, there are certain topics that I find hard too…" she said to him.

"Really? You'd teach me? Thanks a lot Cagalli, I owe you big time!" Athrun said and sighed with relief.

As for Dearka, the poor guy seems to be having trouble with some of his subjects just in time when he has something else in mind. He glanced at the brunette beside him and quickly looked the other way. For weeks now, he had been planning on courting her but how can he do that when all of them has to study for the exams. He thought and thought but somehow, he can't sort his priorities.

"What are you lookin' at?" Miriallia asked him and smiled, you can see that she's getting a bit tired with all the reading.

"Nothing… I just… uhm… hallucinated." Dearka said and turned to his own reading material and tried to sort things out inside his head.

As for Lacus, she was having a breeze. She actually did not even feel hassled with all these. In her opinion, it's just a test that she has to go through unlike the rest; they felt like it's the end of the world. Kira was totally amazed at how she can cope with so much stress. Nicol and Natalie seemed to be absorbed in their books. Yzak was in his grumpy mood again and Shiho did not seem to care as much. The afternoon went by in a flash and before they knew it, it's time for dismissal.

After school…

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kira said, catching up with his sister walking out of the school with Athrun. He panted and smiled at the two teasingly. "Having a little date, are we?" he joked, nudging Athrun's arm.

Athrun's eyes just widened. Cagalli rolled up her stapled hand-outs and whacked Kira and the head. "Watch your mouth!" she snarled angrily at her twin.

"Fine! I'm sorry, I was just kidding… so where are you going?" he asked again.

"I… uhm… I asked Cagalli for help with chemistry…" Athrun answered.

Kira's eyes lighted up. "Ooh… then it's a study date, am I right? Oh no Zala, I am not allowing you to take my sister on dates without telling me!" Kira said, squeezing himself in between Cagalli and Athrun.

Athrun's mouth fell open and Cagalli was already getting irritated. "Shut up already Kira! This is not a date! Get it? NOT A DATE!" she bellowed right at his ear.

Cagalli was irritated by Kira, being nosy and all but at the same time, she felt thankful of having a brother like him. It was really sweet of him to care and protect her. As the three of them walked, she patted the shoulder of her twin. "Don't worry Kira, I'm not going on dates without telling you… we'll be going to the library to meet up with Lacus, wanna come?" she said and invited Kira to come with them.

Athrun chuckled. "Yeah, I think you better should… so that you won't accuse me of taking out your sister!" he said and laughed a bit.

Kira laughed along. "And I'll kick your butt if you did!" he warned him.

"If I know better… you just wanna see Lacus…" Athrun muttered and Cagalli laughed. She poked Kira's side and tickled him.

"My brother's growing up!" she chanted as Kira struggled to run away from her.

"It's not only that!" he blurted out while restraining his laughter. Suddenly, the other two looked at each other and turned back to Kira. "So you do admit it!" Athrun said.

"You wanna see her!" Cagalli said excitedly. "Geez Kira, you're falling in love with her, aren't you?" it was her turn to be protective of her brother.

Kira stuck his tongue out at the two of them and sprinted away. "Race ya to the library!" he called out.

Cagalli and Athrun ran too in order to catch up with Kira's speed.

Meanwhile, Miriallia was preoccupied with studying and seemed to get the dance off her mind for a while. After renting a few books from the library, she chose to study at home and so she left Lacus to wait for Cagalli and Athrun as she carried a load of books. It was a rainy season and she forgot to bring her umbrella. She went out only to find that she's once again starting to be soaked. She knew she had to take a cab and realized she did not have any more money left.

"I guess this is not my day." Miriallia said and looked down at the books she clutched so close to her so that it does not get wet. "And what luck… these are library books!" she said in dismay.

Dearka was carrying loads too and was apparently running toward Miriallia's direction in a fast pace. In a flash, he bumped her hard and both of them fell on the ground. Miriallia scrambled for her books of which some are already wet.

"DEARKA! I AM SO GONNA KILL YOU!" she said angrily. "Oh man…" she said as she wearily picked up her books.

Dearka helped her out in gathering her stuff and also his. "I am so sorry Miriallia! I did not see you standing here, I was in a hurry!" he said, trying to explain. "I am so sorry! I'm so stupid!" he pleaded.

The rain was getting heavier by the moment. "It's fine… I have to go…" she said and started to walk away in a hurry.

Dearka kicked a stray piece of trash angrily as he watched Miriallia go. "I'm such a klutz! I'm a jerk!" he cursed himself. Then he figured out something that just might make up for what he just did.

He ran after Miriallia and caught up with her. "Listen, I'm so sorry about that!" he said.

Miriallia was so tired to even try and remember what happened to the books. "I told you, it's fine." She said, still wearing the sad expression on her face.

Dearka was searching his mind for ideas and he realized it's already raining hard. He hailed a cab and shoved Miriallia in. "Go in!" he said and he followed after her.

"Where are you supposed to go?" he asked her.

"925 Wellington Avenue." She said to the cab driver.

The cab driver made a gesture as if saying yes and drove away. Dearka was still panting with all that running and Miriallia was still not in the mood.

"W-wait a sec… I don't have money to pay for this cab ride!" she said when she remembered she haven't got enough money to spare.

Dearka smiled. "I got your books wet and your clothes even more soaked. I guess this is a nice way to make up for it." he said simply.

Miriallia felt her anger start to fade. He still thought of trying to make up for what he had done despite the fact that he still has a lot of reviewing to do. "Uhm… thank you…" she managed to say.

"I'm sorry… again." he said and chuckled. "I was really in a hurry, it's raining hard… hang on, and why are you standing without an umbrella under the rain, huh?" he said, switching the topic to her.

"Oh… I forgot mine at home this morning…" she answered shamefully. "It was a bit stupid of me…" she said and giggled.

"So I think I better make sure you get home safe." He said and the rest of the trip went by just fine.

In less than ten minutes, the cab stopped in front of Miriallia's house. Dearka got down first and opened the door of her side of the car for her and assisted her with the books she's carrying. Miriallia then got her things from him and smiled.

"Thanks a lot… you saved me today!" she said, finally smiling. "And sorry if I was such a grouch… I'm just tired." She apologized.

Dearka smiled in return. "It's not a problem… it's my fault I made things worse for you… I have to go… see you tomorrow…" he said and climbed back inside the cab and waved goodbye.

Meanwhile, Nicol was already at home and had a head start on his reviews. He decided to take a break and watch some t.v. as he munched on his mom's homemade chocolate-chip cookies. He then remembered something about trigonometry when he came across an educational channel.

"Damn! I left my index card with Natalie!" he said and jumped to his feet. He forgot that he let Natalie borrow his index card wherein he had written all the formulas for trigonometry.

After a bit of thinking about what he must do, he decided to call Natalie first before barging into her place just like that.

Natalie was lying on her bed with an aching head with all that reading. As she flipped through her notebooks, a card fell on the floor. She picked it up and realized that it was Nicol's index card.

"Oh god! I forgot!" she said in alarm.

Suddenly, her mother knocked on her bedroom door. "Honey, a boy is on the phone." She said.

"It's him!" she said to herself. "I'll get it mom!" she called out and her mom left. She picked up the phone extension in her room.

"Nat! Do you have my card?" Nicol asked nervously.

"Oh yeah! I am so sorry for not returning it!" Natalie said. "I'll give it back now…" she said.

"No, it's alright… uhm… I'll get it instead… I think you don't know my address…" Nicol said and chuckled. "So… is it okay if I go there now?" he asked her.

"Yeah sure… sorry! You can go here now, I'll wait for you." She said and after saying goodbye, they hung up.

Nicol took his car instead of commuting so that he saves time and money. Upon arriving there, he saw her, waiting for him at the gate with someone who appeared to be a nanny. Her metallic-blue hair blown by the wind, the maid struggled with the umbrella while she carried a book. Nicol pulled up by the gate and went down. She waved at him and rushed to open the gate.

"Hey! I'm really sorry…" she said, bowing her head. "Gomen… gomen nasai…" she said, apologizing over and over again.

"Nah, that's okay…" he said and smiled, scratching the back of his head, his green hair ruffling.

"Oh, here you go… I have a reference book here in trigo… I just thought I might lend it to you…" she said, handing him the book. "The card is slipped inside." She informed him.

"Geez… thanks a lot Nat!" he said, looking down at the book. "I owe you big time…" he said happily.

She smiled. "You better go… before it rains hard again…" she said.

"Thanks again…" Nicol replied and went back to his car, waving goodbye to her before he drove out of sight.

Natalie went back to their wide porch along with her nanny. "So… you're falling for the Amarfi boy?" the woman of about 34 years old said to Natalie.

She smiled sadly. "Yeah Rosie…" she answered heavily. Rosie, the nanny, sighed and patted her back. "Child… your father won't allow it." she warned her.

"I know! Mom already told me about it…" she said simply.

Rosie understood Natalie. She wants to live normally but she can't. Her family has secrets that should be kept. They have rules to obey and that included staying away from falling in love.

Meanwhile, back in the library, the four teenagers were busy quizzing each other in their little group study. Their afternoon was not only informative, it was also fun. Lacus was asking them about Trigonometry, Kira for Geography, Cagalli in Chemistry and Athrun in history. They have been accepting constant warnings from the librarian due to the noise they have been making.

"Kira it's called genetics… you fool… you're a coordinator, you should've known that!" Athrun mocked him for not answering a question correctly.

Cagalli and Lacus giggled at the two guys arguing about the history of coordinators chapter and about genetics and stuff. "I know I'm wrong, Mr. I-am-so-perfect Zala!" Kira shot back.

The two girls laughed harder and the librarian gave them another grim look and they kept their laughter down.

"Okay then… who discovered the law of octaves?" Cagalli asked them and they all fell silent and just looked at her.

"Joseph Newlands?" Athrun tried to take a whack at it.

Cagalli's brows furrowed. "Zala you have not been listening! It's John, for goodness' sake!" she said, hitting Athrun on the head with a pencil.

It was Kira's turn to mock him. "Ha! In your face Zala, it's J-O-H-N! And to think you know a lot about history and stuff…" Kira said and Lacus laughed along with Cagalli again.

Athrun gave him a serious look and looked away in defeat. Then it was Lacus' turn to ask a question. "Now this is a very easy one… define a triangle with only two equal sides." She said.

"Oh! Oh! I know that one… wait a sec…" Cagalli said, trying to get the right word out. "Isosceles!" she said after quite some thinking.

"Correct! Spell it out for me Kira…" she said, looking at Kira.

The brown-haired boy's smile vanished. He forgot the spelling of isosceles. Athrun's face was lighting up and a smile was creeping up his face. "Don't look at me like that Athrun… I know the answer." He snapped at him.

"Then spell it out if you're so smart…" he challenged Kira.

"I-S-O-S-E-L-E-S!" he said proudly. The other three looked at him as if he's not human. Lacus sweatdropped and hit Kira with her left hand. "It's I-S-O-S-C-E-L-E-S!" she said angrily.

Athrun and Cagalli were already in fits of laughter. "My oh my, dear brother! I can't believe you're an A student without knowing how to spell isosceles!" Cagalli rubbed in as she exchanged a high five with Athrun.

"You guys think you're so perfect… Hmp!" Kira said, pretending to be mad at them poking fun at him.

After a few more of their so-called studying, they went on to serious mode and then on learned for real. Then the librarian approached them, informing them that it's already six p.m. and that the library will be closing in ten minutes. The group gathered their stuff and proceeded out of the facility.

"I bet she's happy to get rid of us…" Lacus said, pertaining to the librarian as they went out.

They laughed again for a bit. "Where are you guys going?" Athrun asked them as they walked.

"I should be going home now… I'll take a cab." Lacus said, stopping in her tracks. Kira offered to hail her one. They said goodbye to her as she rode inside. The three of them proceeded to walk a little further.

"And you Athrun?" Cagalli asked the blue-haired boy on her left. "I'll take a bus… my place is pretty near from here…" he said and smiled.

"Hey, quit that smiling business of yours… I do not allow you to do such actions in front of my sister!" Kira said, shoving Cagalli out of the way so that it's already him who's in between.

Cagalli was puzzled. Kira's overreacting in her opinion. "Fine… I'm not smiling!" Athrun said, waving the white flag at Kira. "You better… and I do not permit my sister to go on further dates yet Zala…" he clarified.

"Kira…" Cagalli said. "Yeah?" Kira answered. "QUIT ACTING LIKE A LUNATIC!" she shouted at him. Kira was terrified and Athrun just sweatdropped. "You're overreacting! And take not, I'm older!" Cagalli claimed.

It was Kira who was waving the white flag now at his sister. Athrun found their petty fights amusing and it made him laugh. _"It must be really fun to have a sibling to fight with."_ He thought to himself as he watched the twins fight some more about who's older.

When the bus stopped, he said goodbye and climbed inside as the twins waved at him. As the bus moved away, he looked back only to see Cagalli beating up Kira again.

"Kira does love his sister…" he said and smiled to himself.

As the afternoon progressed and most students are busy studying for the exams the following week, Shiho just needed to blow off some steam of anger towards a certain silver-haired coordinator. She was talking to Miriallia on the phone as they took a break from their studying.

"What exactly did he say to you that made you hate him this much?" Miriallia asked, giggling at the thought of Shiho wanting to kill the guy she seems to have a crush on.

"I was just trying to borrow some notes and you know what he did?" Shiho said angrily at the recollection of what Yzak did earlier.

"What?" Miriallia asked lazily and yawned.

"He refused and said that I am better of getting my own notes instead of borrowing!" Shiho continued, still fuming with anger.

Miriallia laughed. "Aren't you used to his hotheaded personality?" the brunette said in the other line.

"It's not that! It's only… urgh! I just don't get him! During the dance he was like… you know, I thought he'll change but hell no, he's still as inconsiderate as ever!" Shiho complained more.

Miriallia understood what she's thinking and it was simply disappointment. Shiho was clearly expecting more of Yzak's good side but apparently got more of his bad side. Miriallia also understood perfectly the fact that Yzak isn't an expressive and all-good coordinator. He's hotheaded and inconsiderate in a way that he can also show his soft side only in specific situations.

"Shiho… try to understand the guy!" Miriallia said as she munched on some marshmallows that her mom gave her as she studied. "Perhaps he's just having a stressful time…" she tried.

On the contrary, Shiho still won't give in. "Argh! I hate him! He's so unpredictable!" she whined again.

"Unpredictable… inconsiderate… hotheaded… yup, that's Yzak Jule alright…" Miriallia said, making a little recap of Shiho's complaints about Yzak. "But come to think of it… you still like him, don't you?" she suddenly blurted out that made Shiho stop complaining.

A momentary silence followed and was later broken by Miriallia's hearty laughter. "See? You just want some of his extra attention!" she concluded.

Shiho was infuriated by having to realize that Miriallia's right. Maybe she just wanted to get to see the gentle Yzak again. "Whatever… I gotta go… we really should study now…" she said, wanting to hang up.

"If I know, you just feel defeated, right?" Miriallia rubbed in and enraged Shiho more than ever.

"Whatever you say… c'mon, I gotta run! Bye…" Shiho said and she hung up. Miriallia did so too, still laughing as she hung up.

Meanwhile, at the Jule mansion, a disgruntled Yzak was nearly in tears when he realized he hasn't got any notes in physical science. It was already quarter to seven when he found out about that. He phoned Athrun but he said he's too busy to go out and lend him some notes. Cagalli was already in bed at that early hour and Kira's taking a bath. Miriallia's using hers and Dearka hasn't got a clue about physics anyway. Nicol's not done with his yet and Natalie just lent hers to Nicol along with her trigonometry notes. The last person he called was Lacus.

"Hey! Please Lacus… help... I really need to get the lectures on physics." He pleaded for her help.

"I am dreadfully sorry Yzak… but just for a suggestion, why not ask Shiho? She's practically the best in the subject." Lacus said unaware that he had just offended the girl early in the morning.

Yzak cannot answer but indeed, Shiho was his last hope. There will be no time this week to get started on such a hard subject like physics and he better start on it now. "Uh… thanks Lacus." He said and hung up as the songstress did too.

He thought for a while. If he goes there, Shiho might just throw him out and feed him to the dogs. But if he apologizes, she might forgive him. He's torn between his pride and his grades. This is not just an exam, it's their midterm exams. He made up his mind and grabbed his jacket. On the way downstairs, the butler handed him the car keys and he rode away.

"I cannot show up without a peace offering…" he figured out and as he passed by the streets, he remembered a perfect peace offering. Shiho's fond of watching movies and collecting DVDs and so, he went down the car and bought a movie in the video store.

He drove nervously to Shiho's place and regretted having yelled at her earlier like a big know-it-all. And he can't believe he'd be asking and begging for her help later this day. He stopped in front of the gates of her house and one of the guards acknowledged his presence for having been there before.

He rang the doorbell and Shiho opened the door. The moment she saw him, she banged the door closed right at his face. Yzak knocked desperately.

"Shiho… please… open the door…" he pleaded.

"What do you want?" she snapped angrily.

"I'm sorry! I need your help!" he begged. "I'm pleading!" he said again.

Shiho opened the door, her hands on her hips. "Let me see you plead…" she said with a grim expression on her face.

Yzak knew he had to do this or else he'll fail. He reluctantly knelt down in front of him. Shiho can't believe her eyes. Yzak Jule never bows nor kneels in front of anyone, especially a girl. He must be desperate for help. Shiho took the opportunity to boss him around.

"Good. Stand up." She commanded him and he did as he was told. "What do you have there?" she asked, spotting something he had been holding.

"A peace offering…" he said, looking down and handing her the package.

She opened it slowly and found the movie she had been yearning for over the past weeks. "Oh my gosh… this is amazing!" she said excitedly and forgot about Yzak who was still standing there.

"Ahem" he said. Shiho realized it and quickly turned to him. "So what brings you here?" she asked him, she still looked angry.

"Please… can I borrow your notes?" he said, his voice lowering down from his usual angry tone.

Shiho smirked. "You said I was better off getting my own… perhaps you can get yours?" she said and almost closed the door again at his face but her mother stopped her.

"Shiho! That has got to be the rudest thing a lady like you would ever do!" Mrs. Hahnenfuss scolded her daughter and apologized to Yzak for her behavior. "I am so sorry Yzak… forgive her rude welcome…" she said and looked at Shiho sternly.

Shiho stuck her tongue out and marched out of the hallway angrily. She hated it when her mother chose visitors over her. She went upstairs to her room and quickly scrambled for her physics notebook and went down only to see her little brother having such a great time playing with Yzak on the living room.

"Ryojin! What are you doing playing with that bad guy!" Shiho scolded her brother.

Ryojin protested. "Onii-san is a much better playmate than you are… you're boring onee-chan." He said simply, Yzak was still dumbfounded pretending he's understanding what's happening.

"Here, make sure you'll give it back tomorrow or I'll strangle you." She said harshly to Yzak and gave him the notebook.

Yzak took it and excused himself to Shiho's brother. "So what are you waiting for, Christmas?" Shiho said to him, still pretending to be angry.

For a while there, she was really flattered that Yzak chose to ask for her help. Yes it was understandable that she was the best in the subject but she still felt happy. But she knew better than letting go of her act and so she pretended to be angry.

Yzak was already heading for the door. _"No! Don't go… don't let him go…"_ the voice at the back of Shiho's head echoed.

"No!" she suddenly shouted out of the blue, causing Yzak to look back at her with a very confused expression.

"I knew it… my sister's crazy." Ryojin said and walked out of the living room in dismay.

"Uh… what?" Yzak asked, completely puzzled of how weird things are in Shiho's house.

"N-nothing… it's not you… it's Ryojin… not you…" Shiho said, trying to cover up for what she just said.

Yzak shrugged and was about to go out of the door when suddenly it opened up, revealing Shiho's father. He looked down at Yzak who quickly ran and hid at Shiho's back.

"Who is that lad? Your suitor Shiho?" her father asked her.

Shiho hit Yzak's head and cursed him a bit. "N-no dad! He's just my classmate… he borrowed some notes." Shiho said defensively.

"And my future onii-san!" the seven-year old Ryojin said proudly.

"NO! NO!" Yzak said, trying desperately to make Mr. Hahnenfuss believe him.

Mr. Hahnenfuss' brow furrowed and Yzak swallowed in fright. _"It's the end of the world…"_ Yzak thought to himself.

"Hmm… silver hair… blue eyes… you're a Jule, aren't you?" Mr. Hahnenfuss said, examining his outlook.

Yzak stifled a soft and nervous nod. Then all of a sudden, Mr. Hahnenfuss' expression changed from stiff to relaxed and patted his head. "Welcome to the family!" he said to Yzak whose mouth fell agape and Shiho felt like collapsing anytime soon. Ryojin was jumping happily.

"No, you got it all wrong… I was just trying to borrow some notes… I'm not courting her…" he explained as Shiho nodded in agreement.

"Oh… well I thought… anyway, you youngsters go on with your business… Ryojin, leave them alone." Mr. Hahnenfuss said and left the two of them in the living room.

Yzak lowered his head in humiliation and glanced at Shiho who was restraining her anger towards her family. "I'm sorry… if only I did not borrow your notes then they wouldn't have thought of me as your suitor or something." Yzak said and apologized.

"Oh… it's alright. You better go, it's getting darker…"She said and showed him out of the house.

"Thanks… uhm… thanks a lot for lending me these." He said and left. The moment he got into his car and was revving up the engine, Shiho felt something in her heart. She watched him drive out of sight and she felt a bit sad.

"Does that mean he's not as interested in me at all?" she asked herself.

* * *

**yay! chapter done... i'm not focusing on one pair okay? it's just that this chapter will be way too long if i fit all of it in here so watch out for more in the succeeding chapters. Natalie isn't just the ordinary Nat mentioned in the past chapters... you'll know why in the next chapters... please review! thanks! ja ne! **


	12. some things are better left unsaid

chapter twelve is up! it took me a while too in writing this... school's getting way hard... and i just wish i can get inside Shiho's body so i can get a grade above the average grade i always get in physics... that subject's pretty hard... especially when i always fall asleep! haha! thanks for those who reviewed by the way... **ALL** of you...

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny**

* * *

By Wednesday, practically the whole junior and senior batches were knocked out with all that midterm reviews. Mr. La Flaga has been kind enough to give a sneak preview of his exams and it included four long chapters. By physics period, Mia Campbell was nearly in tears when she failed to answer 2 equilibrium problems. She desperately needed help on the subject and she has to let go of her pride and ask Shiho Hahnenfuss, one of the girls she was supposed to ruin way back when her alliance with Fllay was still valid.

During a two-period break time, Mia gathered up her courage to approach Shiho who was talking with her friends in the far left corner of the classroom. "Uhm… hi…" she mumbled as the five clueless girls looked at her as if an alien just landed in front of them.

Cagalli raised a brow at her. "Uh… huh…" she muttered under her breath. "What's up with saying hi, Campbell?" Cagalli added.

Mia's hands fidgeted nervously. "Uhm… I… left Fllay, by the way…" she tried to explain.

"Oh really?" Miriallia snapped with a cruel smile on her face. "I guess the two wicked witches decided to split up, eh?" she said, folding her arms in front of her.

Mia took an intimidated step back. "Y-yeah… sort of… uhm… and I came to apologize." She said, bowing her head slightly.

"Apology…" Shiho said, standing up. "Seriously, do you even know what that means?" Shiho said, circling Mia as she fidgeted uneasily.

"Look… I'm really, really sorry. I know what I did was so wrong… especially to you Cagalli… I just hope we can patch things up…" Mia said, looking hopeful.

The girls looked at each other. Cagalli did not seem all convinced by her sudden apology and neither were the other four. "And what makes you think we should trust you with your apology?" Natalie asked her sternly as her mouth twitched while speaking.

Mia sighed and composed herself. "I am tired of scheming up to ruin you guys. I really am. And I don't wanna go on doing that." She said with a hint of sincerity in her voice.

The girls exchanged looks of anxiety. Lacus gestured for her to continue whatever she has to add to her statement. "And… I came to ask for help." Mia said hopefully again.

Cagalli nearly fell off her chair and good thing Miriallia and Natalie were there to catch her. "Told ya there's a catch…" she said to her friends.

"Please… hear me out… Shiho… I need your help! I'll flunk physics if you don't help me!" Mia begged Shiho with all her might.

Shiho's eyes widened. "Boy you sound desperate… more like Jule to be exact." She said sarcastically.

The girls discussed it for a while and Lacus told them to give Mia a chance. If she came out of her way for a proper apology and even if there's a catch, they should just give her a chance. Cagalli and Shiho were against it in an instant but Miriallia and Natalie agreed with Lacus that it could be worth a try. Shiho finally agreed to help Mia out and hoped that something will come off with her good deed for the day.

Suddenly, Auel Neider knocked on the door. "Hey! Cagalli! Can I talk to you for a sec?" he said, waving cheerily at Cagalli.

"Me?" Cagalli asked Lacus who gave her a slight push to stand up. She went out of the door and walked up to Auel who was standing there with his back leaning at the wall.

"Congratulations! You made it as the soccer team captain!" Auel said and shook Cagalli's hand.

Cagalli was thunderstruck. "W-wait… hold on… me! Captain! How can that be?" Cagalli asked the blue-haired boy.

"Well it may be because you're good…" he said sarcastically to the blonde. "So… moving on, Ms. Badgiruel requested me to tell you that you'll be starting to hold up practice after exams." Auel continued and looked at his watch for the time. "Oh, I gotta run… bye!" he said and sped off and out of sight.

Cagalli was dumbfounded. "I am team captain… I am team captain… I am team captain!" she repeated to herself. The moment she entered the classroom, everyone's eyes were fixed on her, waiting for an explanation.

"What happened?" Kira asked his sister with full curiosity.

"I'm soccer team captain!" Cagalli said happily, jumping with glee. Her four friends shrieked excitedly and dozens of congratulations erupted from the class. Kira hugged his twin and claimed that Cagalli got the talent from him.

"Dream on Kira, I'm better than you…" Cagalli snapped and many others laughed.

Then suddenly, the lights started to flicker then went off and a deafening thunder erupted. There were shouts and screams from the whole hall and the whole classroom.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" came Dearka and Yzak's voices. Apparently, the two guys got frightened and scrambled under the tables.

The girls could be heard with frightened screams then suddenly, the lights went on again and Mr. La Flaga came rushing in to check on his students. Some were hiding beneath the tables just like Yzak and Dearka, some were hugging each other and some were just petrified in fear. Mr. La Flaga heaved a sigh of relief.

"Is someone hurt? Are you all okay?" he asked, his eyes scanning the whole room.

A girl with short red hair raised her right hand. "Uh, sir, I think I broke my left wrist…" she said timidly as the class looked at her. "Come on, I'll take you to the clinic." Mr. La Flaga said and the girl followed him. "Attha, take over. I don't want any chaos happening inside this room." He said and left along with the girl.

There was a moment of silence as some struggled with fear. Momotani's chocolate bar was melting in his hand as the rest waited for Cagalli's instructions. She sighed and looked around. "Settle down, all of you…" she said and took a quick peek outside. The lights started to flicker again and even she was feeling a bit nervous.

"Ugh, Momotani? I think you better wash your hands." Cagalli said, looking at the big fat guy seated at the back of the class. "Uhm… and we better use the buddy-system on this. Who can accompany him to the washroom?" Cagalli said, pertaining to the boys.

At first, no one spoke up and it was for two main reasons. One is that they are afraid to go out and the other is the risk of being seen walking around the school with Momotani. Nicol, the ever-sympathetic guy raised his hand and volunteered to go along with the big guy and they went out of the room together. Still, there was a commotion and Mr. La Flaga came inside again.

"I saw Nicol walking with Momotani… and uhm, Natalie, your aunt is outside, and she wishes to have a word with you." Mr. La Flaga said. Natalie felt a pang in her heart and was feeling uneasy as she let go of Miriallia's hand that she had been holding in fear. She walked reluctantly out of the door and found her aunt waiting for her at the right end of the hallway.

Her aunt looked bewildered. She hugged Natalie tight and she was in the brink of tears. "Auntie… what happened? Why are you here?" Natalie asked nervously.

Her aunt tightened the embrace and was now crying. "Your father… he has returned… and your mother… she's not in a good condition right now." Her aunt explained and let go of her.

"No… no… no! This can't be true!" Natalie said, now crying. She cannot believe what she's hearing. The most abominable creature she had ever known has returned.

Natalie ran away from her aunt and out into the fields of the school. She sat down under a tree and onto the wet ground, tears flowing from her eyes. Rosie was right. She can't be in love or feel any kind of affection toward anyone. And her mother, what happened to her might just kill Natalie; she loved her mother so much. All the pretending she used to do about her father being such a great man was down in the pits now. She looked up at the sky; it looks like it's going to pour down again. She stood up and wiped her tears away. It was supposed to be her job alright, but she won't do any of it now. Her mother told her that she can live a normal life and she'd rather live it that way.

She went back to the room all wet and her friends rushed to her side, including Nicol and the boys and surprisingly, Mia Campbell. Miriallia commented on her getting flu sooner or later because of being wet and Shiho was telling her how worried they have been. Natalie just gave a reassuring smile.

"No need to worry, I'm okay!" she said, back in her cheerful self.

Nicol watched from a distance. He did not seem convinced at all. He just felt like something wasn't in place. Something is definitely wrong in here and he has to find out.

During lunch, it looked pretty normal and the girls finally forgave Mia. Natalie was back in her old self and everyone was still congratulating Cagalli on making it as team captain of the soccer team.

"It runs in the family guys, what can I say?" Kira said, bragging to his friends about how Cagalli got her excellent skills from him.

Athrun rolled his eyes impatiently and forked his macaroni and cheese. Yzak pointed out that it was Cagalli who should be bragging and not him. Dearka and Nicol agreed with the silver-haired coordinator.

"She's my twin and I have all the right to do the bragging for her." Kira said and took a large bite out of his hamburger.

"But it's Cagalli who got the place, not you." Dearka contrasted again.

"Admit it, you're just proud of your sister… and to think you hated the fact that she's in the same class as you are." Nicol said knowingly at Kira who merely shrugged.

"That was long before I found out about her hidden talents…" Kira said uncertainly but defensively.

"Nice try Kira." Athrun said and took a sip from his cola and replaced the can on the table.

While the boys were having quite a four-against-one discussion, the girls were having quite a heart-to-heart talk. They just can't give up the issue about Natalie and they bombarded her with all sorts of questions.

"Guys, you just have to trust me for now. This is not the right time for you to know." Natalie said and that shut them up.

Indeed, if a person is your friend and she decides to keep a secret from you, you should respect her privacy. And that builds a stronger bond of trust if only there's an assurance that nothing can break that trust.

"We're sorry Nat… we're just worrying for your sake." Cagalli said with a tinge of seriousness and gentleness at the same time.

"Cagalli's right. We don't want you bearing all that just by yourself." Miriallia added.

Natalie looked at each of them and felt like she just wanted to cry but she held back the tears. _"If only you knew what I'm supposed to do then you would've never befriended me."_ She thought of saying but instead of so, she just said, "Thanks a lot for your concerns… I'm really thankful to you. Oh! Let's just change the topic, these sad stuff are unnerving me…" Natalie said and they laughed out a bit.

The afternoon was pretty much normal and the topic about Natalie was not opened at all, even by Nicol. He just talked to her casually and thought that he just might offend her if he asks something about what happened to her earlier.

Since it was Wednesday, they have arts for the afternoon's last period. Mr. Newman was pretty nice for a teacher but all his niceness vanishes when it comes to schoolwork, he's a bit strict but can consider at times.

"Well, since it's perfectly clear that arts subject doesn't require examinations… I shall assign you a rather enjoyable project to do in order to make up for your final grades this term." He said and smiled boyishly.

Mr. Newman was a heartthrob teacher for most of the female student population maybe because he's young and all but mostly because he's not like Mr. La Flaga.

Cagalli had this expression that clearly spelled out that she's not in favor of having a project anytime soon. "Isn't he aware that we're having our midterm next week!" she blurted out and whispered to Athrun who nodded in agreement.

"But don't you worry, it will be submitted after your exams… your exams will be on Monday and Tuesday, right? Then you can have this ready by Friday. If not, I'll try to arrange for extensions." Mr. Newman continued. This is what swept the girls off their feet. He was nice and considerate, practically the complete opposite of Mr. La Flaga. "I guess you'll be better off paired with your seatmates so that picking out pairs won't be necessary." He said and smiled.

Yzak and Shiho exchanged looks of exasperation at the thought of having each other for partners. Kira and Lacus were pretty much okay with it as well as Miriallia and Dearka. Athrun was pretty sure he'll be enjoying Cagalli's company and Nicol was determined to know what's beneath Natalie with this opportunity.

"You'll be making structure models out of scrap materials and art mediums. Any structure you'll have in mind… is that clear?" he said and the class answered in unison.

After that, they were dismissed. Kira ran off with Lacus to get a head start on theirs as they reviewed together. Natalie declined Nicol's offer to have a study-date. Miriallia invited Dearka to have afternoon snacks at her place to make up for the nice things Dearka had done for her. Cagalli was supposed to go home early for their mother and father needed to go out for a while for an important business meeting in town and she then asked Athrun to come over instead for his chemistry lessons. Yzak already apologized to Shiho and she forgave him but they kept their distance for a while which left Shiho in wonder if he's interested in her or not.

Kira and Lacus hang out at the library again, looking out for their midterm reviews and for their project. Both of them have decided on a certain pattern and that pertained to the underwater surface. Kira was constantly corrected by Lacus when it comes to his spellings.

"Kira, you may be the ultimate coordinator and all that jazz, but you really have to work on your spellings." Lacus said, tapping the table with her pencil.

Kira grimaced. "It's not my fault I'm not good at it…" he mumbled like a little child.

Lacus giggled. Kira is such a kid. She knows he's just acting like that for her amusement and she liked that. "Just work on it or you'll lose the top spot in the honor society and lose to Cagalli…" she warned him.

Kira chuckled. "Just kidding…" he said and smiled.

The librarian suddenly approached them and warned them that if they're not going to keep the chatting down, they're going to be thrown out and forbidden to enter the library again. The pair just shrugged it off and laughed to themselves.

Nicol sat on his bed thinking silently. _"Why is she avoiding me today?"_ he asked himself, thinking about Natalie. Athrun said that perhaps she has her reasons why but still, he can't understand why she has to do that.

"I've got to find a way…" he told himself and proceeded in his memorization with terms in history.

As for Natalie, she was in her bed too, with bruises and cuts. A tearful Rosie was tending to her cuts and the sweet girl smiled. "It's okay Rosie. It's my fault. I know that I'm supposed to follow but I got caught up in my own world." She said, patting the nursemaid's hand that was on top of hers.

"Natalie dear… your mother wanted you to live normally… she wanted the best… you deserved it-" Rosie was telling her but she cut her off.

"No, I don't. I'm still my father's daughter, I have obligations." She said. She can't bear the fact that her mother got hurt in defending her. Her father shouldn't have done that and that's what makes things worse for her.

Natalie reached for the photo on her bedside. It was their photo during the dance. She was near the middle along with Cagalli and Miriallia while Lacus and Shiho stood on the opposite sides. Dearka, Kira, Nicol, Athrun and Yzak stood at the back. Dearka was holding a peace sign with a huge grin, Yzak with a smirk, Athrun with a little smile, Kira with a real smile and Nicol with his usual smile, the smile he always wore when he's around her.

"My friends… Nicol…" she said and closed her eyes, tears fell from it again.

Meanwhile, Dearka changed his outfit before showing up at Miriallia's place. He wore the clothes in which she commented she looked good with. When he got there, Miriallia's mom was very pleased to see him.

"Ah! Dearka dear… how are you?" Mrs. Haww greeted him excitedly as he walked in. "I'm good ma'am, thank you." He replied cordially.

"Go upstairs, Milly's in the balcony, she likes to study there…" she said and Dearka obliged to her instructions.

He found Miriallia memorizing the formulas in physics aloud as she held a list in her hand. Books and notebooks were scattered on top of the table and he chuckled at the sight of it. Miriallia suddenly turned around and saw him standing there. The tan boy waved a bit.

"Oh! I didn't realize you're there… come here…" she said, putting down the list of things she's memorizing on top of the pile of notebooks.

There are two easy-chairs on either sides of the center table. It was pretty windy there and Miriallia obviously enjoyed it. "You enjoy it here…" Dearka said, looking at her feeling the wind brush through her hair.

Miriallia nodded. "Yup… relaxing, isn't it?" she said and smiled. Moments later, Mrs. Haww personally brought up the snacks. She scolded Miriallia for having her things scattered all over the table. Miriallia hastily fixed it into order and her mother laid the tray there and left.

The tray consisted of assorted baked goods. Lemon, butter, chocolate-chip and ginger cookies along with two tall glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. Dearka felt his mouth water at the sight of the treats.

Miriallia noticed it and giggled. "Mom bakes real good… try some… even the ginger ones taste awfully good…" she said, taking in one of the lemon flavored cookies. "But this one's my favorite." She said and turned her attention back at her list of formulas.

Dearka took a bit on the ginger ones and he concluded that ginger had never tasted this good. It's like it's not ginger at all. Miriallia constantly poked fun at him finishing all seven pieces of the ginger cookies.

"Aren't you getting tired of all that memorizing stuff?" Dearka said as he sat comfortably on his chair.

"A moment ago I was… it's pretty boring to be an only child, you know…" Miriallia shared. "It's great you came, I had company." She said and smiled before drinking off from her glass.

"Anytime… you better teach me about those, you owe me big time for providing you company…" he said, peeking at her long list of formulas.

They laughed for a while and shared their knowledge about certain topics and in Dearka's opinion who hated studying as much as waking up early in the morning, reviewing for midterms have never been this fun to do.

Meanwhile, Athrun was already in Cagalli's place, being assisted by dozens of maids in their household. Since he lives in a mansion too, he was a bit used to this kind of treatment but he did not expect to receive such especially in somebody else's household.

"Ms. Cagalli will be down soon…" a young maid said and smiled timidly at Athrun.

Athrun gave her a little smile in return before another maid came in. She gave Athrun a warm smile and approached him. "Mr. Zala! Nice to see you… uhm… Ms. Cagalli's going to need your help…" she began.

Athrun gave a look of confusion so the maid continued. "She's kind of… hooked on this computer game she's playing at the moment." She whispered to Athrun and the blue-haired coordinator chuckled to himself.

"I'll see what I can do…" he said and so he followed her to where Cagalli is.

After a couple of flights of stairs, Athrun found himself inside the blonde girl's room, standing by the open door and looking at her pressing keys on the keyboard like mad. It looks like she's a great fan of playing online computer games and indeed, she can't stop herself from doing so. Athrun knocked on the door to get her attention.

"I'm doing something Kira!" she bellowed, thinking that the person who knocked was her brother.

"It's Athrun." He said, trying to restrain his laughter when he saw Cagalli's shocked expression.

She quickly stood up and closed the game. "Athrun! I didn't see you there… sorry… I got absorbed in that game Miriallia lent me…" she explained for her behavior.

"It's okay. So… can you teach me now?" he asked her since he did promise the maids he'd do what he can to stop her from playing and surprisingly, as the maids had told him, it took them forty tries to stop her but it only took him a single attempt.

One of the maids volunteered to bring up something to eat and Cagalli led him inside her considerably large room and let him sit comfortably in her mini-living room. Athrun found it pretty amusing that Cagalli has her own space that pretty much looked like a personal hotel room. The rest of the things inside were orderly except for her study and computer table, it was a complete mess. Cagalli then walked up to him and sat on the seat opposite his. She dropped some books on the couch before sitting down.

"So… what topic you don't understand?" she asked him as she scanned through the pages of the book.

"Formulas and names of ionic compounds…" he answered in a subdued manner.

The maid knocked on the door and came in even without Cagalli looking up. She laid a tray filled with chips, four slices of pizza, two soda cans and surprisingly, two slices of custard cake. She left after Cagalli thanked her for her kindness.

"Sorry… I'm not such a big fan of nutritional values… if you don't like the pizza and the chips leave it to me and you can have the cake…" she said as she scribbled another worksheet for him.

Athrun laughed a bit. "You love junkfoods… mind you, so do I." he said and Cagalli looked up to him before laughing a little too. "It tastes better…" she replied to his comment.

After she was done, Athrun found himself facing a tough worksheet wherein he has to write the chemical formulas for the corresponding ionic compounds. He took a deep breath.

"Don't worry, if you feel you don't understand something, just tell me." She said and smiled before helping herself to a tasty slice of pizza.

Unknown to them, the maids were all stealing glances from outside the open door. They were whispering excitedly about how cute they looked together and that Kira would make another big fuss over his sister getting a boyfriend anytime soon.

"Mr. Zala's fit for Ms. Cagalli, don't you think?" the young maid said to the other who nodded vigorously. The older maid scolded them for they were giggling out loud and it might draw Cagalli's attention.

When Athrun failed to answer a question, Cagalli would teach him the right way to do so. Occasionally, they would end up laughing at each other for Athrun was joking around about Kira killing him if he founds out he's at their residence at the very moment.

"Yeah… but don't you worry, I'll go visit your grave!" Cagalli kidded in return. "Just make sure to bring a whole box of pizza and I'll thank you for that." He said sarcastically and Cagalli laughed at him.

Remembering how crazy Mia is about Athrun, she had another idea for a joke. "And if Kira will kill you because of sister-brother love, Mia will kill me for her undying love for you!" she teased Athrun.

Athrun put down his pen and tickled Cagalli on the side. "I'll kill her first!" he said and the two of them laughed again.

After numerous tries, Athrun finally got all the answers right and he helped Cagalli memorize terms in history. It was agreed that if Cagalli misses an answer, Athrun will whack her on the head but after getting almost seven incorrect answers, Athrun would just shake his head and laugh at her instead of doing what was agreed upon.

"Zala, why aren't you whacking me on the head? Are you scared I might do the same?" Cagalli said in a pretty intimidating gesture.

Athrun just stuck his tongue at her then laughed. "I don't want to…" he said and chuckled. "I'd rather whack Mia a zillion times!" he said and both of them laughed for a while.

After analyzing what he just said and finally taking it in, Cagalli realized he meant something different by the look in his eyes. She chose to ignore it but she did feel happy about it. Athrun cares about her deeply but he doesn't want to admit it just yet.

Unexpectedly, Kira was already at home and he barged into his sister's room only to find Athrun laughing along with Cagalli. He pretended to hate it and sat right down in the middle of them.

"Well, well, well… my bestfriend and my sister… what a nice pair!" he said sarcastically and eyed Athrun suspiciously.

Cagalli rolled her eyes impatiently. _"How dare you ruin my moment Kira!"_ she wanted so bad to say but she sighed. "You should know better and shut up Kira." She warned her brother.

Kira looked at his sister and back at a nervous Athrun. "It's getting late, Athrun should be going home now…" Kira said, gesturing for Athrun to stand up.

"Uh… uhm… I better go… thanks a lot for the time Cagalli, I learned a lot." He said and smiled in the way he always did that never failed to melt Cagalli's heart.

Cagalli glared at her brother who merely laughed at her and then turned to Athrun. "Thanks too, for helping me in history…" she said and smiled at Athrun.

"Okay, okay… that's enough… let's go Athrun…" Kira said and dragged his friend out of the room.

Once the two boys were out, Cagalli slammed her bedroom door shut and yelled curses for Kira. "Why do you always have to act so protective! I hate you Kira!" she said out of disappointment.

But unknown to her, Kira just had his reasons for doing so. He just wanted to have a man to man talk with Athrun before allowing him to go on study dates with his sister. The moment they were out of the house just outside the gates, Kira laughed at Athrun's expression.

"Don't look at me like that, I was just kidding!" Kira said, bursting into a hearty laugh. "I was just doing that to annoy Cagalli." He added.

Athrun chuckled and shook his head. "For a second there I thought I would be killed." He said and joined Kira's laughter.

"But seriously Athrun… do you like my sister?" Kira suddenly said in a very serious voice.

At first, Athrun was tongue-tied. He was afraid that if he told Kira the truth, he just might change his mind and kill him right on. But Kira gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder that told him it's okay to tell the truth.

Athrun took a deep breath. "Yeah, very much. You know I've never liked anyone before… and you can have my word I'm sincere about this." He said to Kira with the same seriousness as the brunette.

Kira smiled and gave Athrun a brotherly hug and let go immediately. "I just wanted to make sure. I'm trusting you in this Athrun and you should know better than to betray me." He warned his friend.

"You can count on me." Athrun guaranteed him.

"Just make sure. I love my sister and I don't want to see her cry anytime soon… just inform me when you'll start courting her!" Kira said and the two lads laughed and exchanged their handshake.

Athrun said goodbye and left after he hailed a cab. He was more than happy to know that the person closest to the girl he likes approves of him to make a move on her. He owes a lot from Kira and he better not blow this chance he had given him.

Meanwhile, Shiho was in the comfort of her room, staying away from her parents who bombarded her with Yzak-related questions and most of all, her little brother who desperately want to trade her for having a big brother like Yzak. At first, she felt hurt thinking her family favored a man for a woman in the family but then, something was bothering her more. She had liked Yzak the first time she got to know him and now, she doesn't know what to think especially when all he shows were simple lack of affection.

"_But at the dance, he told me not to judge him by what he lets me see… I wanted to do that but why isn't he giving signs that I should see deeper in him?"_ she asked herself, hoping that her chemistry book will reveal the answers. She had been reviewing the subject since she started studying and somehow, no information seemed to be absorbed by her brain.

She pondered on what her friends said. Lacus advised her that maybe he's just preparing for something. Miriallia told her to wait and look out that maybe she was the one neglecting the signs. Cagalli said that Yzak isn't really the most pleasant person on the face of the planet and maybe annoying her is just his way of trying to get noticed. She did not get to ask Natalie though; her nanny informed her that she's already in bed.

Shiho was torn between giving up on him and going on. But on the contrary, in the middle of her so called chemistry-slash-Yzak review, Ryojin came barging in her room, holding a toy sword.

"Onee-chan… I wanna play." He demanded. Shiho hated the idea of having a brother way younger than her. She have always favored of having a sister but instead, she got one pesky little brother.

"I can't, I'm studying." She snapped at Ryojin and turned her attention back at her book and notes.

Ryojin paced around the room, fiddling with some stuff from time to time. Shiho hated it when he does that. "Stop messing with my stuff Ryojin!" she scolded her brother.

Ryojin had enough of her ill-temper. "You know, having an onii-san is way better than having you as a sister! If you hate me, I hate you! You always think you're so good! I want Yzak-sama as a brother! He said I'm worth some fun! Unlike you, you always point out that I'm stupid!" he said, sobbing at the sleeve of his shirt as he ran out of the room.

Shiho's thoughts were bothering her now. _"Was I really that bad to my brother?"_ she thought, her conscience getting the most of her. "Oh man…" she said and covered her face with a pillow. "First my Natalie, then Yzak, then my parents and now my brother! How bad can things get!" she asked herself and nearly cried.

As for Yzak, he was looking out of his bedroom window, watching the droplets of rain slide down the panes. He drummed his pen on his desk and thought about Shiho.

"_Was I really treating her badly? What can I do to make it up to her?"_ he asked himself over and over again. It was what Dearka told him, that he's hurting her if he still doesn't realize it.

He stood up from his chair and walked around the room. He then planned that he'll make it up to her by the time they'll be doing their art project. That way, he can spend time with her and apologize for his actions. He admitted to himself that he was indeed acting way overboard with the hothead attitude and it's driving her away.

"I'll make it up to her… I swear…" he said and continued to watch the rain fall, hoping that it will stop and let the stars come out of the dark night sky.

* * *

done! haha! now i can go back to my homework before my mother scolds me again... teehee! by the way, this story will end after they graduate from high school and i will make a sequel of it... but i'm also thinking of just adjoining that to this one... what do you think? let me know! please review! thanks! ja ne... 


	13. snap back to reality

ohayo! this is such a great morning for me... school's cancelled! at long last... i finished chapter thirteen... i wasn't able to finish it for we had to go through tons of examinations... thankfully i passed them all. Natalie's secret is already revealed! haha! it's kind of absurd, really... but don't hesitate to review so i can patch it up! for all those who reviewed, thanks a lot!

**disclaimer: i do not own anything! haha!**

**just in case i blew this chapter up, just tell me, ok? i'm open in receiving suggestions from you guys!**

* * *

School was cancelled that following Friday. It was because the rain was falling harder than usual and kids would rather study at home for the near exams. The girls were getting worried for they haven't heard from Natalie since that Wednesday afternoon. Lacus was talking with Cagalli on the phone that morning.

"I wonder what's going on with Nat… I'm getting worried Cagalli…" Lacus said and sighed. Truly, she wanted to know what happened and help her out.

"Me too… I just hope nothing bad happened to her…" Cagalli replied. Both of them just can't stop thinking of the possible things that can be happening and why it must take place.

The conversation eventually leads to Kira, as Cagalli wanted to divert the topic to a new one to stop them from worrying excessively. Automatically, Lacus was careful in revealing anything from that conversation after the dance with Kira. Not that she wanted to keep it secret; it's just that she's quite shy in telling Kira's twin.

"You know what, he talks about you, and he dreams about you… he's all about you!" Cagalli exclaimed and giggled.

Lacus was already blushing and was thankful that they're just having a phone conversation. "Give me a break… and what makes you say he dreams of me?" Lacus said, pretending not to be carried away by her emotions.

"He called out your name once. I even thought you were inside the house! He was screaming like crazy… that was so funny if you ask me… he looked stupid, gripping the bedpost and all!" Cagalli told her the story. It was indeed funny if thought about, Lacus just can't imagine Kira doing that.

Lacus tried to bring up something about Athrun but Cagalli would always block her and stick to Kira. "Fine… I give up… you win!" Lacus said and laughed at Cagalli's happy shrieks.

"Oh, if the rain stops later… do you mind going with me to the library?" Cagalli asked her suddenly.

"Sure, no problem! Just call me on what time so I can prepare…" Lacus answered.

After a few moments, the two girls hung up and unknown to Lacus, Cagalli was an accomplice to Kira's plan. Kira already fell asleep from all that waiting for the conversation to end and Cagalli threw a pillow right at his face and he woke up.

He yawned and jumped up excitedly after a couple of stretches. "So? What happened? What did she say? Will she go? What?" Kira's questions came like the droplets of rain.

Cagalli rolled her eyes and smiled knowingly. "Yeah, I told her I will be there… what is your plan, really?" Cagalli asked his brother for the fifth time that morning. "I certainly don't want to get into trouble!" she added with a stern look.

Kira walked around the room for a while, wearing a stupid smile on his face. Cagalli scratched her head, feeling a bit confused. "Why do you have to meet up with her later? She should be studying you know!" Cagalli reminded her brother.

Kira shook his head and shrugged. "Hmm… you don't have to know… it's my secret!" he said and crossed his arms in front of him.

Cagalli scowled. "She's my friend, I have to know before I let you make a move on her…" she said as if nothing can get in the way of her words.

Kira shook his head again. "Nope… you'll know eventually… and please, I'm your brother! Trust me, everything's gonna be fine…" he said and patted his sister's shoulders before walking happily out of the room.

Cagalli walked to her bed and sat there. "Weird…" she muttered before returning to her reviewing materials.

Meanwhile, Miriallia was getting a bit bored than usual. She wanted to get out and prayed for the rain to stop so she can go to the mall to buy a new bag. She enjoyed shopping with companions and she thought that maybe her friends could go with her. She had already studied for almost all the subjects except for the ones that require computations. She called up Shiho to ask for company.

"Sorry, I'm… grounded. My brother hates me and my mom grounded me for that…" Shiho said weakly when Miriallia talked to her on the phone.

"Oh… I see… thanks anyway!" Miriallia said and hung up.

When she called up Lacus, the pink-haired girl already made plans with Cagalli in going to the library. She thought of calling Natalie but no one was answering their phone and so she had another reason for going out. She wanted to know what's behind all the strange things that are concerning Natalie.

She paced around her favorite hang out in the house, the one where she shared a fun afternoon studying with Dearka. Suddenly, a thought hit her. "What if… I ask Dearka to come with me?" she asked herself. "Nah… he might think I'm too forward to ask a guy out…" she said and sighed. "All I can do now… is hope for a miracle." She concluded and went to her room for a while.

Meanwhile, Dearka was done with five subjects now and concluded that he needs a time-out and he can do the studying for the succeeding days. He went down to the kitchen and spotted his dad and surprisingly, his older sister, cooking breakfast.

"Dad! Diana!" Dearka's surprised self said. His father smiled at him warmly and so did his sister.

Diana, his older sister has been gone for years now. She was finishing a doctorate degree in college. She was indeed a beautiful young woman. She had a lighter complexion compared to Dearka but had the same blonde hair as Dearka, only that hers was long and straight.

"Good morning dear brother…" she greeted the tan boy. "You in for a late breakfast?" she asked him cheerily and opened her arms for a hug.

Dearka and Diana were surprisingly close than you expect. Dearka ran to his onee-chan and they hugged for a while. "Diana! Why didn't you tell me you're coming?" he asked her quite disappointedly.

"I wanted to surprise you!" she said and went back to her frying. Dearka sat on the counter, watching his sister do the cooking. "Dad said you're interested in girls now, huh? And you attended your first dance! How was it?" Diana asked excitedly before flipping the pancake.

Dearka grimaced at his father who was chuckling at him. Diana was waiting for his answer and he went down from the counter and shrugged. "Dad, you're such a crackpot..." he said, walking away and bumping into his mother.

"Son! What's with the hurry?" his mother asked him.

Dearka shrugged and walked to the living room for some morning dose of television. Their mother took over Diana in the kitchen so that she can have a little pep-talk with her little brother. She went over the living room and sat beside Dearka on the couch.

"So… you wish to share the story?" she asked her brother as he switched the TV from channel to channel. Dearka just smiled teasingly and stuck his tongue at her.

Diana scowled. "You're keeping secrets! Spill it now!" she demanded and tickled him on the side.

After quite some laughs, the Elthman boy gave in. "Fine… I do like someone!" he said and was hopeful that his sister won't press it in.

Apparently, he was wrong. "Tell me about her!" Diana said excitedly.

Dearka sweatdropped. The last time he had this kind of talk with his sister was when he was still in fourth grade when he liked a saleslady in the local department store. He was feeling a bit uneasy telling his sister about these for every guy has an ego. But he can't escape from her questions and he has to spill to make her stop.

After telling Diana the Miriallia story, Dearka wanted to hide in the nearest room and lock himself forever but instead, his sister hugged him happily and shrieked with excitement. "When can I meet her? Gosh! She sure is pretty if you like her this much!" she said, shaking Dearka vigorously.

Dearka was getting impatient. "I'm not even courting her yet!" he said, breaking free of his sister's hands.

Diana was thunderstruck. "W-wait… you mean all the moves you did was ask her to the dance!" she asked him and he nodded. "Stupid! You should be courting her by now! What kind of guy are you, an 1875 kind of man? Wake up Dearka, make a move or you'll lose her…" she said, turning serious.

Dearka didn't quite make out what she just said. "What do you mean I'll lose her?" he asked to clarify.

"Look, being too backward isn't practical these days. Women want men whom they know will love them and stick up for them consistently and persistently…" she explained as Dearka absorbed the words in his head. "And Miriallia is young, she has a great life ahead of her… if you let her pass then you might never see her again." she finished.

Dearka's brows furrowed. "You're absurd… you're expecting too much… we're still too young for love you know!" Dearka said, trying to be defensive out of embarrassment in talking with his older sister about love-stuff.

Diana shook her head. "If I'm absurd then you're crazy." She said and stood up to leave the room.

While Dearka was left inside, he cannot concentrate in watching TV for his mind was focused on thinking about what his sister just said. _"If I slack and wait, will I lose her?"_ he thought hardly. As he switched the television off, he made up his mind that his sister may just be overreacting.

Meanwhile, Nicol was really getting insane worrying so much about Natalie and what had happened to her. He wanted to see her to check if she's okay but he can't simply go there without telling her beforehand. He then punched in her telephone number and waited for someone to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Uhm, hello? Can I speak to Natalie please?" Nicol stammered on the other line, hopeful that Natalie will be talking to him any minute from now.

"Mr. Amarfi? I am so sorry. Natalie's out with her mother, I'm not sure about what time they're going to be back. Do you wish to leave a message?" obviously, someone else answered the phone.

Nicol sighed hopelessly. "No, thank you… I'll just call another time." He said and hung up.

He paced around their living room until his father, who was currently reading the morning paper noticed his anxious actions.

"Nicol… what's wrong, son?" he asked, looking up from the paper and to his son who was fidgeting as he settled on the couch.

The green-haired boy merely shrugged. "Nothing dad… I'm just thinking about something." He said, hoping that his father won't ask any more questions.

"Do you wish to tell me about it?" Mr. Amarfi asked persistently. Nicol knew there's no way out of this. His father already laid down the newspaper and was ready for a talk.

Nicol scratched his hair and tried to pick out the words correctly. He hated it when his dad wanted the pretend-to-be-a-psychiatrist talk. "See… uhm… it's not such a big deal, dad… I'm just concerned with a friend." He said simply and smiled.

Mr. Amarfi stood up and walked around. "A friend by the name of Natalie, is it?" he said and looked at Nicol.

Nicol shrugged. "Yeah… it's nothing." He tried again.

"I've been hearing you talking fondly about this friend you say… what's wrong now?" he asked his son again.

"I dunno… I tried calling her but she's always out of reach." Nicol said. For certain, he cannot take another mention of Natalie's name. "I'll go back to my studies dad, catch ya later." He said and ran off.

Mr. Amarfi was kind of intrigued by how his son talks about this certain girl. But since he's not the type of dad who will meddle with stuff that isn't his business, he better leave it as it is.

Meanwhile, Natalie isn't really out, she's just inside the house and in her mother's room. The young lady looked down at her mother with tears.

"Mom… you said that he's not gonna come back? That I can live normally? That we will live normally! What now mom? He laid a hand on you and so on me!" Natalie said in much grief. She hated seeing her mother lying down helplessly.

"Natalie… I know how you feel… but we can't escape from your father… now that you're seventeen!" her mother replied.

Natalie stood up and walked to the window. It was not raining as hard as it was a while ago and somehow, she's not eager to see the sun rise up. "Mom! I don't want to do what he wants me to!" Natalie said with pleading eyes.

"Natalie… if only I can do something about it…" her mother answered, now crying as well.

Suddenly, Rosie, the nursemaid came in without knocking. "Natalie… your father's back!" she panted.

Natalie and her mother exchanged dark looks and Natalie bent her head down. "I'll take care of it Rosie, thanks." She said and walked out of the room, ready to face her father.

When she arrived at the living room, she saw her father and his colleagues, propped up on the couches and easy chairs. When her father spotted her, he has a very firm look on his face that clearly meant that she has to be nice to everyone. She hated looking at those faces, eyes flashing at the sight of her, thinking she would bring them to glory.

Her father gestured for her to sit along with some women among the men. When someone asked her about her mother and she was about to tell the truth, her father cut her off and said that her mother was just resting due to stress. Natalie glanced at Rosie who was just standing beside her with a horrified look.

Suddenly, someone by the name of Azrael Multa stood up and raised a glass of white wine, obviously going to make a toast. Everybody looked directly at him and waited for his speech. Azrael instantly fixed his stare at Natalie who seemed frozen by his cold gaze.

"I would like to take this opportunity to make a simple thanks for our dear Natalie here, daughter of Theodore Ishigami, one of our respected leaders." He said and a small applause broke from the audience. "Because of her, we can be one step closer in our goal!" he said proudly and even more applause broke out.

With yet another look, Azrael resumed his speech. "We are all counting on her loyalty in doing her task for the good of us all! Blue Cosmos will reign! Those horrid coordinators will all die and so will the naturals and we will start a whole new version of humanity!" he said proudly.

Natalie felt her world crumble to pieces and her body getting weak and numb. A voice at the back of her head wanted to shout out and cry out loud.

Natalie is the daughter of one of the leaders of the notorious anti-coordinator and natural group, the Blue Cosmos, founded by Azrael Multa and her father himself. She was destined to carry on with her father's biddings and help in destroying coordinators once and for all. That's why she constantly gets beaten up along with her mother due to protests about the whole thing.

She couldn't bear to hear another word from the blond-haired psycho maniac of a fool and so she feigned a headache and rushed out of the living room, causing a momentary confusion. Rosie followed her in a hurry and it seems she went off to the garden. She sat on the dewy grass, wetting her jeans but she doesn't mind.

"Natalie… come on child… don't cry…" Rosie coaxed the young lady. She sobbed hard and said that Rosie don't have to bother herself to keep her company.

Rosie knew she should leave her for a while to get the burden off her. Natalie sat there, contemplating on what she should be doing rather than what she has to do. She was ordered to spy on the sons and daughters of some important people in ZAFT so that the assassination of the respective families will be momentary. At first, Natalie knew what she had to do but when her father left and she built the most important friendships in the world, she wanted to quit the job.

She loved her friends and fell for one guy among them; because of that, she can't bear the fact that she has to betray them, even if it means risking her own safety to protect them.

"I have to protect them." She said to herself and touched the pendant of the necklace Nicol gave her on the night of their dance. She stood up then went back inside the house. She knew sooner or later, she has to decide.

Meanwhile, Shiho was determined to patch things up with Ryojin. This is the first time she felt her conscience bugging her like crazy. It was indeed such a stupid thing to do, being rude to her little brother all the time. She wanted to reach out to him and make a truce and escape from being grounded as well.

She then went out of her room and proceeded to find Ryojin. The maids told her that the little boy was inside his room. Shiho knocked and came in.

Ryojin was drawing pictures and turned into a bad mood the moment he saw Shiho enter the room. "What do you want?" he said in a harsh tone of voice.

Shiho smiled nervously. "Uhm… well… I came here to say sorry." She said and crossed her fingers behind her back.

Ryojin scowled. "If I know better you just want to get rid of being grounded. You know, if you hate me that much, you can expect me to hate you as well." the young boy said.

This time, Shiho felt really hurt, realizing what bad things she could have done to her brother when all those times she could have been more considerate. "Ryojin… I'm so sorry… I know it's hard to forgive me and I am not rushing you. But please, can you give me another chance?" she said with sincerity.

Ryojin just looked at her and looked back at his sketch pad. Shiho was desperate. "I'll make up it to you; I swear I'll never do those things again." she said and pleaded.

Ryojin always had a soft spot in him that Shiho was fortunate of. "Well… okay… if you say so." He said and smiled a little, not looking at his sister.

Shiho inched closer. "You mean it?" she said with an excited smile.

This time, he looked at her. "Yeah… you're my sister." He said and smiled. Shiho felt something that she has never felt before. She loved her brother and she was just too self-absorbed to realize that at first.

She hugged him tight in glee. "I… c-can't breathe!" Ryojin said, struggling to push her away.

"Oopsie! Sorry about that… say, you wanna get some truffles?" Shiho offered. Ryojin was thrilled. "Really? We'll go out? You mean it?" he said with a twinkle in his eyes. Shiho nodded and he jumped in excitement. "Wait for me, I'll go change." Shiho said and left the room.

Meanwhile, back at Miriallia's place, she was desperate to go out for a change. She wasn't really the type to stay at home and tend to the garden again for the whole day. And so, she went out and headed straight to the mall, hoping she could get the bag and get a tasty lunch at a fastfood.

She went to the department store and headed to the bag section to buy her dream bag. The moment she was just about to grab it, another girl did so.

"Oh… sorry." She said and looked up at the person. The girl appeared to be older than her but very beautiful indeed.

"Sorry… uhm… take it!" she said and smiled warmly.

"MIRIALLIA!" a familiar voice said suddenly.

It was Dearka and he was rushing towards her and the girl. By the mention of her name, the girl looked thunderstruck.

"Dearka! What are you doing here?" Miriallia asked in surprise.

"So you're the famous Miriallia I've been hearing so much about!" the girl said happily.

Miriallia was dumbfounded. Dearka was uncertain of what to do, he can't believe of all times, his sister and his all-time crush would meet here at this mall.

"Dearka! Don't be so rude, introduce me!" Diana said and hit him lightly on the head.

"Uhm… Miriallia, this is my sister, Diana… Diana, this is Miriallia." Dearka stammered, receiving weird looks from Miriallia.

Miriallia's jaw dropped. She remembered the time when she slept in Diana's room when Dearka saved her the last time she fainted. And she was even given her clothes to wear. "Oh… uh, hi Ms. Diana!" Miriallia tried to make a suitable greeting and gulped.

Instead of the handshake she anticipated, Dearka's sister gave her a brief hug. "Pleased to meet you Miriallia… and call me Diana, not very formal!" she uttered.

For Miriallia, this was all too sudden. She was just walking around to buy a new handbag and unexpectedly stumbling at someone who happens to be Dearka Elthman's older sister. Dearka also looked as confused as she was, struggling to shut his sister up.

"Miriallia, do you want to join us for lunch? My treat!" Diana offered, completely forgetting about the bag and walking with Miriallia arm in arm, leaving Dearka to trail behind.

"N-no, I'm alright… you don't have to worry about me." Miriallia said in embarrassment.

"Darling, if you're worrying about what Dearka would say, ignore him!" she said and dismissed the topic and it clearly meant that she can't refuse. She looked behind her and saw Dearka give her a reassuring smile that meant that his sister is completely harmless.

Meanwhile, Athrun was with Kira, talking inside the library as they waited for Lacus. Athrun was even considerate enough to remind him that Kira would definitely get Cagalli in trouble if he isn't smooth enough to whip up an excuse for showing up in his sister's place.

"Uh, you're not helping Athrun!" he said to the blue-haired boy.

Athrun just chuckled. He was just pulling Kira's leg by that statement and he succeeded, it bugged him. He was nervous and Athrun had not a single idea why he would be if he would just be studying with her. Moments later, Lacus came inside and waved at the two of them before settling down.

"Where's Cagalli?" she inquired. "I thought she'd be here." She said to the two boys.

Athrun smiled. "I better go, right Kira? See ya Lacus!" he said and stood up then left.

Lacus just watched him go and waved, still bothered about Cagalli not being here. "Uhm… Lacus?" Kira began, seeing the look in her face.

"Huh?" she said, turning to Kira.

Kira fidgeted nervously. _"Relax Yamato… it's just for a date."_ A voice at the back of his head reminded him.

"Uhm… I have a confession to make…" he said, looking down with guilt.

Lacus got the picture. She was right. By the way Cagalli mentioned Kira on the phone was so sudden and meant something different than just a diversion. For some reason, instead of feeling angry at the thought of having been told lies, she was feeling the shivers going down her spine.

"I asked Cagalli to help me to get you here. If you're mad, don't blame it on her, it's my fault. I just want to talk to you…" Kira said, pausing for some time to breathe.

Lacus giggled. "I'm not mad… I kind of… expected this to happen. Your sister's not really good at acting, you know." She said fondly.

Kira chuckled, starting to feel at ease. "Well… the real reason why I asked you to come here… is… uhm… I wanna show you something, if it's okay with you." Kira said hopefully.

Lacus' eyes lighted up. "Sure!" she said and smiled.

Kira then thought of a big favor he owed his twin for this. They went out of the library together, and Kira was really grateful that Lacus isn't mad at what he did.

"Where are we going?" she asked with anticipation.

"Uhm… it's your birthday next Tuesday, exam day… am I right?" he said and Lacus was surprised he knew about it.

"Y-yeah… what about it?" she said, confused of what may come up.

"Since it's exam day and I'm already finished with studying… I think I better give you my advance birthday present!" Kira said happily.

Lacus could be seen blushing bright pink but Kira chose to pretend not to notice it. "Y-you don't really have to Kira… and besides, it will only take up your time, and-" she was saying but Kira cut her off.

"Trust me, it's what I wanted to do." He said and took her hand.

At that precise moment, Lacus just felt her world stop. She was now assured that Kira's not playing games, he's serious. Every girl knows the amount of ego every guy has and this particular guy was ready to give up that tradition just for her.

As the two of them walked around the sidewalk shaded by trees, Lacus tightened her grip on Kira's hand, catching his attention. "Is there a problem?" he asked worriedly.

Lacus shrugged and smiled. "Nope… I'm just happy. Thanks." She said and smiled sweetly.

Meanwhile, Athrun got home found out that he forgot to return Cagalli's notebooks and just when he was about to grab it, it fell on the floor. "I'm such a klutz." He said when suddenly, he noticed something enclosed within it.

It was a stray paper, probably scratched off from a notebook. It had doodles on it, Cagalli's way of doodling that is and he was surprised to see a caricature of him.

"Interesting…" he muttered and smiled at the sight of it. Then he turned the paper around and was shocked on what was written there.

Truth is, it was like a mini-journal entry that Cagalli forgot she left within that notebook she lent Athrun. Her deep secret was written there and sorry for her, it fell to the hands of the very person she's been hiding it from.

_I'm crazy and I should not be expecting something good from this. I'm complicated and I admit that I am no match to Mia when it comes to looking good. I know I don't put as much effort in fixing myself and I am fine that way. I talked to Mia and she admitted she liked the same guy I have liked since I first saw him. I know I should not be bothered by these, in Miriallia's opinion that is… but I just can't help but think that I am not good enough for him. Maybe Mia is… maybe he's just comfortable around me but that doesn't really mean he likes me just the same, does it? Nah… this is stupid… ATHRUN! WHY YOU? WHY YOU? WHY YOU? Why do you have to come into my life when I don't stand a chance!_

Those were the exact writings on the paper. Athrun felt mixed emotions while reading it. First was conscience, he should have told her. Second was fury because of Mia being such a crackpot. Third was happiness. Cagalli liked him as well.

"If only you knew Cagalli…" he said with a smile and pocketed the paper. He left his house, going to Cagalli's place to drop by the notebook but before doing so, he enclosed his own surprise.

Meanwhile, Shiho and Ryojin were in the park, playing in the swings. Ryojin was enjoying himself with his sister and surprisingly, Shiho is too with her brother.

"Thank you Shiho!" Ryojin said and suddenly hugged his one-chan. "I love you!" he said and grinned widely. Shiho felt touched. It was the first time her brother told her he loves her. "I love you too Ryojin!" she said and returned the hug.

Suddenly, Ryojin broke away from the hug and started waving frantically at a person from a distance. "Onii-san! Yzak-sama!" he called out.

Shiho's eyes widened and quickly turned around to see a shocked Yzak walking in their direction. Ryojin ran to him excitedly. "Wanna play with us?" he said, clinging onto Yzak's hand.

Yzak was carrying grocery bags and looked at Shiho uncertainly. Shiho smiled at the sight of the two of them and approached Yzak. "Hey… I owe you an apology… I was rude this past few days." She said and offered a handshake to Yzak.

The silver-haired coordinator was taken aback. First he didn't expect to see them and mostly did not expect a truce with Shiho. Nevertheless, he shook her hand and had a small smile. "I'm sorry too…" he uttered.

"Hey! I wanna play!" Ryojin butted in.

It was quite unlikely for Yzak to be nice when it comes to children. He smiled down at Ryojin and let the kid drag him all the way to the swings as Shiho followed. As Yzak pushed the little boy on the swing, he and Shiho were having a civil conversation.

"Uh, what's with the groceries?" Shiho asked mockingly. "Mama's boy?" she teased him.

Yzak scowled. "Not really. I just had to." He snapped and the brown-haired girl laughed. "You're weird." She said and giggled.

"You don't have a clue…" he said and stuck his tongue out.

"I'm happy." Shiho suddenly said and walked a small distance when Ryojin went over to the cotton candy stand. She sat on the grass and Yzak did so too.

"Why?" he asked simply.

"My brother loves me…" she said and looked at Yzak. The young man wasn't really into showy-affections but somehow, he showed his soft side.

"All you both needed were chances… Ryojin loves you and you do too." He said and sighed. "I don't have siblings… so I'm not really good at these… but I like children…" he said, sharing something about himself.

"I can see that…" Shiho said. Ryojin returned and the three of them ate the cotton candy. Yzak accompanied the two of them all the way back to their house.

"Bye onii-san!" Ryojin said and went inside the house. Shiho stayed for a bit to talk to Yzak.

"You know what?" Shiho began. "My brother loves you as well." she said and smiled at Yzak.

Yzak was surprised but yet he smiled. "I'm thankful for that." He said and after an exchange of goodbyes, he left.

Meanwhile, back at the mall, Dearka, Diana and Miriallia were having a good time when suddenly, Diana freaked out. "Gosh! I forgot! I have an important appointment! Damn… I can't continue my shopping…" she said with a very sad expression.

Miriallia giggled softly as Dearka rolled his eyes, he thought it was something worth freaking out for. "I have to leave… Dearka, you have my permission to go on a date, take care of Milly. Bye!" Diana said in a rush and walked fast away.

"Uh… this is really puzzling me." Miriallia said, looking at Dearka.

Dearka shrugged. "Uhm… wanna resume shopping?" he suggested.

For a moment, Miriallia was silent and then she sighed. "Oh well, I wanna buy a bag! C'mon!" she said and pulled Dearka by the hand towards the bag section of the department store.

Dearka hated shopping but now, it seems like shopping is the most enjoyable thing to do in this world. He looked at Miriallia as she paid for her purchase.

"_She's so… amazing."_ He thought. Miriallia's unique and cheerful and that's what makes her stand out from the crowd.

After quite a while of shopping, Miriallia was laden with shopping bags. Dearka offered to take her home and when they arrived there, Miriallia helped Dearka in carrying her stuff.

"Thank you so much Dearka, I had a great time. Your sister was cool." She said and smiled happily.

Dearka snorted. "She's crazy!" he said and the two of them laughed. "Oh by the way… I bought something for you, you little shopaholic!" he said and handed Miriallia a paperbag. "Open it when I'm gone." He said and smiled.

"Fine…" Miriallia said sarcastically and giggled. "You better go… thanks for the time again!" she said and Dearka went away.

The moment Miriallia got in her room, she excitedly opened the paper bag that had cute star prints on it.

"Awww! This is sooo cute!" she said at the sight of Dearka's present.

* * *

**oohhhh what could that present from Dearka be? haha! watch out for the next chapter! plus, you'll know who will pass the midterms... and who will fail? i still don't know... hehehe... please review! thanks! i'll update as fast as i can... ja ne!**


	14. figure it out

hey guys! here's chapter fourteen! yAy! i'm sorry if this has to be short, but i promise more on chapter fifteen... this only includes tons of revelations so please read... thanks for those who reviewed! i couldn't thank you enough! so here it is, please read and review!

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed nor gundam seed destiny**

* * *

Athrun returned the notebook to a disgruntled Cagalli casually, like he read nothing at all. Cagalli bought the act and thought that the missing journal entry might be lost elsewhere. Athrun left and Cagalli returned to her studies. As she was flipping through the pages just to make sure that she left that sheet of paper somewhere else, she flipped at the very last page, the one where Athrun wrote his own point of view about the topic.

_Cagalli, _

_I didn't mean to invade your privacy but I just read that scribble of yours accidentally. Please, I beg for your forgiveness…! I just want to clear up things for you. You're UNIQUE, KIND and BEAUTIFUL. You should know that and you should never compare yourself to others… especially Mia Campbell! (I'm not being inconsiderate of her! Since you always scold me when I criticize Lacus' look-alike…) _

Cagalli paused while reading and her eye twitched violently. "He read it! Damn! He did read that stupid entry!" she yelled at the top of her lungs before resuming.

_Cagalli, I can't imagine how numb you are… hey, I'm being sarcastic. But seriously, you mean to say that after all those times, you think that I am just thinking of you as a friend? I wouldn't do those if it meant nothing or I'm just playing around._

_Sorry, I'm not really good at these kind of things, you know… being mushy and stuff… it's just not my thing so, sorry. Forgive my handwriting as well. I sure hope by now you'd switch that thought to something else… if not, read paragraph two again._

_P.S. I hate Mia Campbell, you know that. I even hate the mushroom soup named after her…_

_ATHRUN_

"This… isn't right… this… is not real! This isn't real!" Cagalli yelled once again. She's flattered alright, getting the shivers down her spine and all. But still, she can't believe that a sweet gesture like that could ever come from Athrun.

Meanwhile, as the blonde was pondering on her "Athruniasis syndrome" as she would always call it, her twin brother was having so much fun than what she's having.

Kira brought Lacus to a meadow near the city beach. The air was fresh as the green grass and the colored flowers danced with the breeze. It was indeed a good over-looking sight way up a wide cliff up the beach. Lacus walked slightly closer to the edge to take a look down the beach.

"Oh! How cute!" she exclaimed at the sight of little children playing and running around down there.

Kira smiled. "You like it? This is my favorite place in the world… so peaceful high above the waters…" Kira said, inhaling the fresh air.

"Yes… I love it. It's like a sanctuary far from the real world." Lacus said and sat down the grass, fixing her skirt delicately. "Thank you Kira, for bringing me here." She said and looked up to him then smiled.

Kira sat down beside her. "I thought that I'd rather give you a sweet memory rather than just another usual gift you can get from others." He said with a hint of sentiment in his voice.

Lacus blushed again. Kira was looking out at the horizon as his hair gets ruffled by the wind. "I certainly won't forget this Kira… it's the best birthday present I can think of…" she said to him. "And I really appreciate you giving it to me in advance." She said and placed her warm hand on top of his.

It was Kira's turn to blush and Lacus just pretended not to notice it as well. Kira smiled. "Glad you liked it." he said as Lacus diverted her stare at the blue sky.

"Have you ever dreamed of being able to reach up to those skies?" she asked fondly.

Kira was astounded. "Well… I wished to become a pilot someday… but I don't know that would be worth wishing for." Kira said. Lacus glanced at him with an inquiring look.

"I don't know… maybe someday I'll go there… and I do hope you'd come with me…" he said and smiled at the pink-haired girl beside him.

Lacus hit his arm lightly in a playful manner and giggled. "Of all people, why me?" she said, playing innocent.

"Just because… you know why… don't play dumb!" Kira teased her and tickled her side.

After quite some laughs, Lacus gave up. "Fine! I give up!" she said and Kira stopped tickling her.

Suddenly, the sky got quite dark and it showed signs of a coming rain. Lacus and Kira quickly stood up and ran toward a nearby tree as the rain started to fall.

"Kira! We're getting wet!" Lacus said, already feeling cold since she did not have a jacket.

Good thing Kira was a gentleman enough to remove his jacket and offer it to her. "Let's go, we better take a cab!" he said and pulled her by the hand, protecting her as he let himself get soaked in rainwater.

A cab stopped and they scrambled in. Lacus requested the driver to switch the air-conditioning off since Kira was the one getting cold now.

"Thanks… don't worry about me, I'll be fine." He said although he's shivering in the cold.

Meanwhile, Nicol can't take it anymore. He wanted to know what's happening with Natalie and so he went straight to her house, unaware of what he will be seeing there.

He parked his car a block away from the house and decided it's best to spy on something when you're pretending not to be spying at all. He walked down the street, in front of Natalie's house and pretended to be a mere passerby. The guards didn't even notice him. He wished to see a glimpse of Natalie but instead of seeing her there, he saw someone that sent his blood boiling.

"Azrael Multa?" he said, his mouth agape. "What the hell is he doing here?" he muttered to himself.

He continued to walk but hid behind a big oak tree nearby. He saw Azrael go out of the place with a bunch of people and even shook hands with a man. The moment the people got in the car and drove away, Nicol was feeling a bit dizzy but nevertheless, walked on by.

"What's happening? Why are there Blue Cosmos men inside their house?" a ton of questions sweep around his brain. "And what about Natalie? Is she safe?" he asked himself with concern.

Meanwhile, Miriallia cannot concentrate on her studying. She just received a very cute gift from Dearka. It was a small stuffed teddy bear that has a heart for a nose. Indeed, it was very sweet of Dearka to even bother to buy her something that she didn't even ask for.

Due to the cuteness of the teddy bear and Miriallia's fondness of it, she hugged it tight.

Suddenly, it sounded something more of a voice from someone. Alarmed, Miriallia looked around then looked down at the toy. "Where did that voice come from?" she asked herself and absentmindedly hugged the bear again.

"I LOVE YOU" the voice echoed again.

Gasping, Miriallia looked at the bear in horror but composed herself to make out the sentence again.

"I LOVE YOU" the teddy bear said whenever she hugged it.

Miriallia's eyes widened and patched the things up. "If this teddy bear says 'the three magic words' whenever it is hugged… and if this teddy bear came from Dearka…" she whispered to herself.

The conclusion is obvious and she can't believe it. "Oh my god!" she yelled in surprise. Blood was rushing to her cheeks and she felt it heat up with happiness.

Meanwhile, Shiho was watching the video Yzak gave her with Ryojin. Their parents were so proud of Shiho for finally reaching out to her brother. In the middle of the movie, Ryojin asked something that almost made Shiho fall down the couch.

"You like Yzak-san don't you?" he suddenly blurted out.

Shiho was thunderstruck. "R-Ryojin! What got into you?" she said, horrified.

Ryojin rolled his eyes. "You can't fool me sis… you said you'd beat up every guy who gets close to you…" he pressed in.

"That was way back in my freshman year…" Shiho said and turned her attention back at the movie.

"Will you quit playing dumb?" Ryojin said exasperatedly. "And don't worry, I won't tell mom!" he said excitedly.

At this moment, Shiho felt like blasting his little head off but on second thought, Ryojin is right. She is playing dumb for she likes Yzak more than she claims she does and too bad her little brother was the one who figured that out.

"Whatever you say…" Shiho said and ignored her brothers side comments about Yzak this and Yzak that.

Meanwhile, Yzak was thinking about the same thing as he studied his lessons in history. Before he hated girls so much like allergies every time he eats crabmeat. But that was long before he met Shiho. For him, she was different. Boyish in a way but has a strong personality. He could recall his mother scolding him for being such a dumbass ignoring the girls who worshipped the path he walked on.

"Thinking about these stuff makes me hungry." He said and placed the book on his study table and walked out of the room to get himself his dinner.

His mother was already waiting for him to join her. "Have you reviewed enough for your exams?" she asked him quietly.

Yzak stifled a nod as he chewed his food.

Meanwhile in the Zala Manor, Athrun was thinking if he made the right decision answering Cagalli's journal without explaining why. He paced around his room, contemplating on how he feels. Kira has already approved of him and there's nothing more for him to ask for.

"I better crash this chemistry test if I wanna impress her…" he said to himself jokingly, thinking about Cagalli as he strived to make the best out of his chemistry subject.

"Athrun dear, you want to come down for dinner?" his mother said from outside the door.

"Yeah mom, I'm coming!" he called out and gave up on reading for a while.

As for Dearka, he was struggling to win the battle with Diana. His older sister wanted to know what he gave Miriallia but Dearka just couldn't find the guts to tell his older sister that he gave Miriallia a talking teddy bear. Eventually, he had no choice but to tell her.

"SAY WHAT!" she snapped. "A teddy bear? Come on Dearka! That is so yesterday! If you're a man then tell it to her right off!" she said, ridiculing Dearka's move.

"Hey! As if it's that easy! What do you know in courtship anyway?" Dearka shot back and glared with anger.

Diana burst out laughing like crazy. "I'm just kidding Dearka! Can't you take a joke?" she said and laughed out loud.

Dearka scowled and turned his back on his sister. Diana inched closer to him and tickled his side. "It was a joke!" she said and tickled Dearka till he can't hardly breathe due to laughing.

"So you think I made a good move?" he asked Diana hopefully.

"Yup… you really have evolved to a more sensible being!" she said mockingly with a smirk that reminded Dearka of how Yzak would ridicule him if he finds out about the teddy bear.

"I'm just kidding Dearka… but honestly, it wasn't a bad move at all." She said and smiled warmly. "Just remember, once you start there's no turning back." She said seriously.

Dearka didn't quite understand what she said and raised an eyebrow at Diana. "Uh… mind translating that huh, Ms. I-Am-A-Philosopher?" he said sarcastically.

Diana rolled her eyes. "Figure it out, dimwit!" she said and laughed out loud again that irritated Dearka more than ever.

* * *

Sunday went by in a flash and before they knew it, Monday was already there and it meant that they have to go through their midterm exams. The classroom was pretty silent that morning for everybody was busy with their last minute reviews. 

Cagalli can barely open her mouth the moment Athrun came in and so in Miriallia's case, she cannot even look at Dearka. Both girls are feeling shy and both guys are being bugged by that behavior. As for Kira and Lacus, they are just the same, talking and laughing. Yzak and Shiho were pretty normal too, since they don't really talk that much. Yzak sat beside Nicol as Shiho talked with Cagalli and Miriallia about Natalie and if she will be taking her exams.

Nicol was utterly silent and Yzak cannot stand silent people who usually were noisy. "Natalie" Yzak suddenly said and his cold blue eyes met Nicol's brown ones.

Nicol have been dying to tell them about what he saw in Natalie's house but didn't seem to have the courage to do so. He just pretended to be depressed by not having Natalie at school and Yzak bought the act although the silver-haired coordinator still had his suspicions that Nicol's hiding something.

Mia came in with a different mood for the day. She was quiet and she looked down and sat on her seat quietly. Miriallia noticed it and pointed it out to Cagalli and Shiho.

"Take a look… what's with her?" Miriallia whispered to the two girls.

Cagalli blinked and shrugged. "I don't know… she's probably tired of all that studying." The blonde girl said.

Miriallia looked at Shiho. "Well… maybe she had another fight with Fllay, don't you think?" Shiho said before diverting her eyes back to her book.

Miriallia tilted her head on the side and was really intrigued with how Mia was acting but she just left the issue to rest. The school bell rang and Lacus walked over to the three girls with a very sad look on her face.

"I guess we won't be seeing Natalie today…" she said in a low voice.

Cagalli smiled bitterly and hugged Lacus. "Let's just hope she's alright…" Cagalli said consolingly.

Mr. La Flaga came in and asked the class to return to their proper seats. He looked a bit disgruntled as he announced that a different seating arrangement will be used while taking the examinations. Mr. La Flaga turned to writing the exam schedule on the blackboard. Nicol glanced from three rows behind him where a vacant seat was propped up beside Athrun. It was supposed to be Natalie's seat but she's not around this day.

Nicol was a bit bothered by what he saw there. _"Could it be that she was taken as hostage by those Blue Cosmos guys? Or am I just overreacting and maybe there's a reason behind all of these?" _thoughts breezed around Nicol's head and he cannot concentrate on his last minute reviews.

Shiho was sitting beside him and noticed that he seems to be anxious about something. "You alright Nicol?" she asked with concern.

Nicol took a few seconds to snap back to consciousness. "Y-yeah I'm alright Shiho… I'm okay." He quickly replied.

Shiho looked puzzled but she let him vent-out for a while and returned to her reading. All of a sudden, someone knocked on the door.

"Uh-uhm… I'm sorry I'm late sir." A familiar voice said and all the heads turned to look at who she is.

"Natalie!" Cagalli shrieked the moment she recognized her and ran off to the door and hugged her tight. "What happened to you?" she asked worriedly.

Natalie giggled. "I'm fine Cagalli!" she said and laughed a bit.

The other three girls joined in hugging Natalie as well and even the other people in the class missed Natalie. Mr. La Flaga was happy that she was back and didn't even oppose to them hugging Natalie excitedly for some time.

"Welcome back Nat!" Dearka said and exchanged a friendly hug with Natalie. "Thanks Dearka!" she said.

"Where have you been off to, eh?" Yzak asked since he wasn't really good at hugging and all but he was surprised when Natalie hugged him briefly. "I'm back Yzak…" she said and the others just laughed.

Kira and Athrun hugged Natalie at the same time and the girl almost got squashed. Everybody laughed at them. "K-K-Kira… A-Athrun… I c-c-can't breathe!" she said and the two boys let go of her.

Lacus was in tears for she was always the one who worries the most about everything. She hugged Natalie like it was a year that they haven't seen each other. "I missed you!" Lacus sobbed. Natalie chuckled. "Missed you too!" she said and returned the hug.

Shiho did the same and so did Miriallia and surprisingly, Mia did so too. Of all people, the one who seemed so hesitant in giving Natalie a welcome-back hug was Nicol. The things he saw back there overcame his excitement and all he managed to do was look at her.

Yzak was perplexed by the way Nicol had been acting and nudged him to wake him up from whatever's going on inside his mind.

"Hi" he said, not looking at her.

Natalie felt like something was definitely not in place and she was wondering what may be going on with Nicol. Feeling hurt by his actions, she didn't return the greeting and instead, turned to Mr. La Flaga who gave her a pat on the head and told her that she will be sitting beside Athrun for the exams.

Everyone was puzzled why Natalie and Nicol were keeping their distance but they decided that they should not meddle with things that do not concern them.

While taking the exams, the students racked their brains for answers. Chemistry was pretty unnerving and only Cagalli seemed to be having a breeze at it. Another hour for history went by with them draining their energies at stressful examinations. 2 hours were allotted on taking trigonometry and a self-confessed Dearka said he was definitely going to fail the subject.

The bell rang after they all finished with their exams. As everyone was filing out of the classroom, Nicol gathered up his courage to ask Natalie about the real score from behind her disappearance.

"Nat… I want to tell you something." He said seriously.

Lacus, Cagalli, Miriallia, Shiho, Kira, Athrun, Dearka and Yzak all stopped talking at once and so did Natalie and her smile instantly vanished. She knew Nicol had to know something if he were to act like this and she was ready for any twist of circumstance.

Everyone listened intently as Nicol told his story about seeing the people from Blue Cosmos in the Ishigami residence. The girls gasped and the boys were utterly shocked.

"Nicol… are you accusing Natalie of something?" Lacus suddenly blurted out, taken aback of Nicol's tone of speech.

Natalie shook her head. "You would all definitely hate me when I tell you." She said for an introduction and went on with telling them the whole story, including that she was the daughter of Theodore Ishigami and what she had to undergo just to protect her friends.

"And if you won't trust me enough Nicol, here." She said and rolled up her sleeve and it revealed bruises and cuts.

"Oh dear… Natalie…" Miriallia said in horror and reached out for Natalie's arm.

"I am selfish… even my mother suffered because I wanted to stick up for you instead of following my father. I can't blame you if you want to hate me and scorn me forever; you are free to do that." Natalie said with certainty and at the same time, bravery.

"No Nat, we would never do that! We owe you our lives!" Cagalli said in contrast to what Natalie had expected her to say.

"And if it weren't for you we should all be in the hands of those people by now." Shiho said, trembling.

"And you definitely aren't selfish." Kira said consolingly.

Nicol looked down, feeling terrible. For a while there, seeing Natalie being able to go to school and looking perfectly normal, he thought that maybe she had something to do with Blue Cosmos. He felt like he was such a jerk to even have suspicions about Natalie. He should have trusted her and now he wanted to run and hide in shame.

"I-I'm sorry… I just thought…" Nicol stammered. "In fact I was worried! I thought that you might be taken hostage or something!" he said.

"Nicol, cool it…" Dearka said, trying to make Nicol sit down and calm down.

"I understand you perfectly well Nicol. You don't have to explain." Natalie said, moving closer to him. "It's my fault, if only I told you guys earlier then maybe we wouldn't have problems like this." Natalie said, putting the blame on her again.

"Stop blaming yourself Nat… you did it because it was what you think is right." Athrun said reassuringly.

"He's right, at least it's all clear now, nothing to worry about." Lacus added.

Natalie felt like her burden was lifted up from her and moved into tears. "Thanks, for not turning your backs on me." She said and smiled even if her cheeks were shined with tears.

"Guys, we better leave them to talk." Shiho said, pertaining to Natalie and Nicol.

The others realized that too and followed Shiho out of the classroom door. Natalie thanked them again and said not to wait for her in case the conversation takes longer than expected. And so, the nine of them went out to the grassy soccer field of the school as Cagalli practiced with a few kicks while the others sat under the shade of a tree.

"It's a good thing the weather's fine today…" Lacus commented, taking in the fresh air.

"Hey captain! Get over here!" Miriallia called out to Cagalli who kicked the ball magnificently to the goal.

"I score!" she said and jumped happily before running off to her friends.

After a few moments of silence and some talks of relief about Natalie, the conversation leads to their curiosity about what could be going on with Natalie and Nicol from inside the classroom about a few floors up in the east wing of their school.

Meanwhile, Nicol apologized to Natalie for his behavior and how he suspected her of something. Natalie just smiled in return for this.

"I'm so sorry Nat… please… I didn't mean to… I… I don't wanna lose you! I-" Nicol was saying and he was about to say the 'three magic words' but Natalie cut him off.

"I forgive you Nicol." She said and stood up from her chair. "And please, don't say that you feel something for me, I don't want you getting hurt because of that." She said and walked toward the door.

"You understand, don't you?" she said and smiled like the way she had always did whenever Nicol's around.

Nicol felt his world crush him to pieces. "Don't you love me Natalie?" he suddenly said, standing up.

Natalie smiled. "You should not be asking me that. You should know by now." She said and went out of the door.

Nicol did not understand a word of it but nevertheless, he felt glad that Natalie accepted his apology and so he followed her out of the school building and off to find the others.

Unknown to them, someone had been eavesdropping in their conversations the whole time. Seeing Nicol catch up with Natalie, the red-haired girl giggled cruelly.

"Now I know how to ruin you…" she said with a twitching smile. "You'll be out of this school in no time…" she said.

Suddenly, a small group of girls called her name.

"Fllay! Are you coming?" they asked.

"I'll follow girls…" she said and turned her back and walked away. "Let the games begin…" she muttered to herself.

* * *

awwww... i should have made this longer... well anyway, i'll include more pairing moments in chapter fifteen! please read and review! thanks! ja ne! 


	15. happy birthday lacus

yAy! chapter fifteen! as i promised, i will make this longer... actually, this is even longer than what will be chapter fifteen but since it will be way too long if i try to fit it all in here... i decided to chop it so the continuation will be on chapter sixteen!

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed nor gundam seed destiny**

* * *

At the strike of twelve a.m., Lacus was awakened by the constant beeping of her cellphone. She reluctantly opened her eyes and reached for the thing from under her pillow.

"Fifteen messages!" she said in surprise and started reading the messages.

After reading fifteen happy birthday greetings, a thought hit her. "Oh god… I forgot about my birthday!" she said and felt the sleepiness drain out of her.

She read the messages again, one from Cagalli, Athrun, Kira, Miriallia, Dearka, Shiho, Yzak, Nicol, Natalie, Lunamaria, Meyrin, Auel, Shinn, Stellar, and even Mia Campbell greeted her a happy birthday.

"This is outrageous!" she said and laughed happily. The other day she forgot about her birthday and was reminded in a very flattering manner, and even the girl who hated her before greeted her.

Lacus happily went back to sleep. After a few more hours, her mom and dad woke her up with a small chocolate-chip cupcake with a little candle on top.

She sleepily opened her eyes and was surprised. "Happy birthday sweetheart!" they both said in chorus and hugged their daughter.

"Aw… thanks mom, dad!" Lacus said and kissed her parents.

"Your party will be prepared by the time you get home, be sure to invite all your friends!" her father said.

"Aw honey, you're seventeen now! You'll be having a blast later, the ballroom will be filled! And do you want to have a live band?" her mother asked excitedly.

Then an idea hit Lacus that made her smile widely. "Leave the band to me!" she thought happily.

* * *

In school, almost all the people who knew her greeted her a happy birthday. It was bright sunny morning and Lacus found it peculiar that she wasn't seeing a single one of her classmates along the way. While walking along the hallway towards her classroom, she noticed that it was a bit too quiet to think that their class is one of the noisiest. She thought that maybe they're just stressed about the exams yet to come this day that they forgot. Nonetheless, she walked inside the classroom, unaware of the surprise prepared by the class.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LACUS!" they all shouted in unison.

The room was decorated with a large happy birthday banner on the window side and was bordered with heart-shaped balloons. Lacus nearly moved into tears for she was so touched.

"Aw… you guys… you don't really have to do this... thank you so much!" she said with a wide smile that clearly showed how much she appreciated what they did.

"Happy birthday Lacus!" greeted Mr. La Flaga with a wide smile.

Lacus thanked all her classmates again and with some moments of greetings, Mr. La Flaga checked his watch for the time and called for the class' attention.

"Just because it's Lacus' birthday, it doesn't mean you can escape from your exams today!" he said with a victorious laugh as the students groaned.

"Sir! Can you move it instead?" Cagalli interrupted hopefully with the puppy dog eyes.

Mr. La Flaga thought for a while and the students were keeping their fingers crossed but when he turned back to Cagalli, he smirked mockingly. "No can do, Ms. Attha!" he said.

"Great… just great…" Cagalli said ironically and buried her face in her hands. Yzak, who was sitting beside her for the test still had the nerve to crack a joke.

"Failed, didn't we?" he said with his trademark-annoying-smirk that is more irritating than Mr. La Flaga's.

Cagalli gave the silver-haired coordinator a death-glare and her eyes twitched violently. "You'd shut up or I'll blow your head off!" she yelled absentmindedly.

The class laughed at the two of them arguing, especially when Yzak was startled when she shouted at him. Cagalli turned around to see Athrun looking directly at her, laughing along with the others. In an instant, she sat back down properly, red in the face.

The noise was already subsiding and Yzak noticed her unusual behavior. "Uh… what's with the red face and the trembling?" he asked mockingly again.

"Stop that! You're not helping!" Cagalli snapped angrily.

Yzak raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement of what she said and he turned his attention back at his pen. Cagalli was annoyed with him doing those things. "What on earth are you doing?" she asked, frustrated.

"I don't care 'bout you so you don't care 'bout me!" he said sarcastically. At this precise moment, Cagalli really wanted to blow off Yzak's head straight at the Milky Way.

Suddenly, Yzak changed from being irritating to serious. "Athrun" he said and twirled his pencil while he waited for his paper.

Cagalli's eyes widened. She turned to Yzak sharply and didn't know what to think. "I don't know what kind of fortune teller you are Yzak, but I must say… you are freaking me out." The blonde girl said and fell silent once she got her paper.

As Yzak reached for his paper, he turned to Cagalli before starting with his answers. "I know I am..." he said proudly.

After almost three hours, those who are finished can go out of the room for some fresh air if they wanted to just so to give the others more space in concentrating. Nicol was one of those who were finished early so he went out for a while.

He walked towards the end of the hallway, thinking to himself. _"Did I scare her away when I said what I felt about her?"_ he thought, pertaining to Natalie the other day.

Suddenly, he felt a light pat on his shoulder. "Hey" Kira said from behind him. "What's up?" the brunette asked him.

Nicol looked at him for a moment and sighed. Kira looked at him inquiringly and so he told him all about what happened when they left him and Natalie to talk inside the classroom.

"Kira… was I going way too fast when I told her just like that?" Nicol asked Kira.

Kira shook his head. "No. You just had to tell her." Kira said and paused for a while. "Look, if it was really like what you said that she didn't take it badly at all… then there's no problem!" Kira said.

Nicol was confused. "What do you mean?" he eyed Kira with a puzzled look on his face.

"She didn't tell you how she felt… that way, she can protect you. Why? Just think about what can happen if her dad finds out about you and her… get the picture?" Kira explained, knowing to himself that he had the right analysis of Natalie's actions.

Suddenly, Miriallia came by and joined the two of them at the bottom of the stairs. "Kira's right Nicol. Natalie did this for you… for us! And we're all too young here; maybe time is all you guys need…" Miriallia said as the two guys listened intently.

Kira smiled, indicating that he agreed with Miriallia. Nicol chuckled. "I was such a jerk…" he uttered.

"Of course not! Try to understand Nicol, at least you know what's going on with her… for now, the least you can do is be a friend. A true friend, that is." Miriallia continued.

"She's right. And if you really love her as much as you say you do, you'll wait." Kira said with a reassuring grin.

Nicol's mood seemed to be lighting up. "Thanks guys…" he said and motioned for a three-people group hug.

After the brief group hug, Miriallia told them that they better go back to the classroom for their classmates might be finished with their tests. As they were walking back, their other classmates were doing so too. The three of them went back to their respective seats.

Lacus was getting irritated by Dearka singing her a birthday song over and over since the time he finished taking his exam. "Uh… Dearka… don't you think that singing over and over is a little tiring?" she said, hoping he'd stop singing.

Dearka laughed. "Glad you said that… I was just trying to make you laugh…" he said and grinned.

Lacus giggled. "Thanks a lot Dearka… I appreciate it." the pink-haired girl answered.

"Well actually… I wanna ask for your help… or rather, your comments..." he said. "Spill" Lacus said and listened attentively.

Dearka told her all about the teddy bear he gave Miriallia and asked Lacus if it was nice, telling her through a talking teddy. Lacus giggled excitedly. "That's so sweet of you Dearka! I'm sure Milly appreciates it… but you don't have to feel that she didn't…" Lacus told him.

Dearka was indeed clueless when it comes to figuring girls out. "I don't understand…" he said.

Good thing Lacus was patient enough to explain it thoroughly. "You see… of course it came to her as a surprise… and the exams just stressed her out… you get it now don't you?" Lacus said hopefully. "We've all just been preoccupied with all the stuff we had to do… even I forgot about my birthday last night!" Lacus continued.

"Oh I see… it's really though reading girls!" Dearka said, contemplating on how Yzak seems to have a breeze in butting in and knowing exactly who the other person is thinking of.

He told Lacus about it and the pink-haired songstress just laughed. "Yzak's more of an observer compared to you… at times Athrun's like that too… and it's not really reading, it's just observing." Lacus said.

Athrun was talking to Natalie and asked the girl about what Nicol told him the other night. Natalie told the exact same things that Miriallia and Kira explained to Nicol earlier.

"That's way brave of you Nat… I must say it's not only Nicol who has to thank you for everything." Athrun said and thanked her for it.

"Nah… what are friends for?" she said and they both laughed for a bit. Suddenly, she said something that made Athrun uneasy for a while. "You like Cagalli so much, don't you?" she said with a sinister smile.

"Uh… you're getting creepy." Athrun said seriously.

Natalie laughed. "Come on now, say it!" she said teasingly, giving him a slight push on the shoulder.

Athrun stuck his tongue out at her. "It's none of your business Nat!" he shot back at her.

Natalie grimaced. "You are so unfair Athrun!" she said, pretending to be angry at him, blackmailing him to tell her about the letter.

"You wrote on her notebook and kept the note? Oh my gosh! You're stepping on the line of privacy!" Natalie said, taken aback.

Athrun looked crestfallen. "So… it was a bad idea?" he asked desperately.

Natalie shook her head and smiled. "No, it's not really like that… at least now she knows you're not interested in Mia at all!" Natalie said.

Athrun smiled. "You really think so?" he asked her and looked at Cagalli having another round of shouting with Yzak.

"Uh-huh… and it's also sweet in a way that even though you didn't tell it to her face, at least you found a nice way to let her know…" Natalie said and pinched Athrun's arm.

"Ow! Pincher! I'm telling Nicol of this!" Athrun said and pinched her arm too. "Oh no! You can't do that again… I just pinched you for equivalent trade!" Athrun said when Natalie was about to pinch him again.

Shiho was talking to Nicol about Natalie and told him about the same things Miriallia and Kira told him. From then on, Nicol was in a happier mood and diverted the conversation to Yzak.

"Urgh! To think my brother loves him… you know, I really don't understand why Yzak loves to annoy people and be really nice to kids…" Shiho whined and Nicol laughed.

"Actually, I don't really know either… ever since we were younger, Yzak is nice to little kids, and I mean little, not the ones who are closer to his age-range… he's always like that." Nicol said and paused for a moment. "But although he's sometimes too annoying, he's not that bad… only that he has a temperamental attitude to match…" Nicol said and chuckled hopefully.

Shiho rolled her eyes. "I can see that… and you know, that guy is so weird! One moment, he's nice then in a split-second, he's I feel like I want to kill him!" Nicol was laughing while Shiho complained more about Yzak.

"I'd say you're not really hating him for being moody… you like him because of it!" Nicol teased her.

For a moment, Shiho was taken aback but she composed herself and pretended not to be affected by what Nicol said. "Honestly Nicol, I don't really care about Yzak as much as you think…" Shiho said and stuck her tongue out at Nicol.

"Give me a break…" Nicol shot back at her.

As for Kira and Miriallia, they are discussing about their gifts for Lacus. Kira told Miriallia about his advanced gift and she thought of it as the sweetest thing a guy could ever do.

"Oh really? But what about the teddy bear Dearka gave you?" Kira suddenly said.

Miriallia's eyes widened in surprise. "H-how did you know that?" she asked him, startled.

Kira chuckled. "Well… I kind of figured that out…" he said confidently. "Now where were we… oh yeah! You're going to give Lacus a CD for a present!" Kira said, aggravating Miriallia.

Suddenly, Lacus stepped in front for something to say. "I would like to invite all of you to my house later, for a small gathering… I do wish all of you could come! It will be for around two p.m." she said excitedly.

"And I will be going there too, just to inform you!" Mr. La Flaga said with a hint of showing-off.

"Oh yuck…" a student muttered as a joke.

"You would take that back if I were you… you're not as good looking to say that!" Mr. La Flaga kidded around and Lacus went back to her seat.

They waited for the bell to ring and finally, all of them went home. Lacus also invited the Hawke sisters and Auel, Shinn, Stellar, and even Rey Za Burrel. All her friends went straight home to get their gifts but she requested the five boys to stay behind for a while.

"So, what do you want to tell us?" Dearka asked curiously.

Lacus smiled timidly. "Well… I wanted to have a live band performing later…" Lacus began.

"Oh! Will it be My Chemical Romance?" Nicol asked with anticipation.

"Is it for girls only?" Yzak asked quite grossed out that it may be such a girly gathering.

"How many bands are performing?" Athrun asked eagerly.

Lacus' eyebrow twitched and she rolled her eyes impatiently at them. "Will you guys just listen for a sec?" she said and they all shut up. "As I was saying… I didn't want to hire some popular band to perform later." She said enthusiastically.

anime back-flips for the boys

"Aw man! And to think I thought there's going to be a live band…" Kira said disappointedly.

Now, Lacus had a wicked smile on her angelic face. "Oh there will be… since I want the five of you to play some music on my party! Isn't that great?" Lacus said admiringly, her mind fluttering on them playing and singing at the party.

"Uh… I think I'll be getting tuberculosis later at exactly two in the afternoon and I'll be bedridden for the rest of the day!" Yzak said, attempting to escape.

Lacus scowled. "How dare you Yzak! It's my birthday!" she said furiously.

"But Lacus! We can't just play out there! We're not prepared!" Kira contrasted in shame.

"He's right… how can we play songs when we're not rehearsed?" Athrun said in agreement with Kira's statement.

"It's the least you can do for me… please?" Lacus pleaded with the puppy-dog eyes.

After a while, the boys finally gave in.

"Fine! Just stop that eye thingy of yours…" Nicol said quite grumpily.

"Just don't blame us if we blow this up…" Dearka said, warning Lacus of what can be happening.

"Oh I'm sure you won't!" she said and jumped up and down happily.

"We better go home and have a little bit of practice…" Kira said.

"And lunch!" Yzak said, massaging his hungry stomach. "All that thinking made me hungry…" he said.

After calling out a final thank you, Lacus went inside the school, looking for other people that she can possibly invite. While walking along a deserted hallway, she heard footsteps echoing from behind her.

"Well, well, well… aren't you going to invite me at all?"

Lacus turned around and saw a very unpleasant sight. "Oh… hello there Fllay..." Lacus answered mockingly.

Fllay walked around her like a vulture eyeing her cruelly. "To think many look up to you as a perfect maiden… if only they knew how rude you are not inviting me!" Fllay said again.

"Look, if you're such a dumb social-climber that you'd die just to get in my party, dream on! It's not the right place for a trying-hard girl like you." Lacus said and that statement really pulled Fllay's wires.

"I'm not after you Clyne… I'm after Kira." Fllay said angrily.

"What for?" Lacus asked with a mocking smile on her face.

"I'll be taking him away from you… maybe not today, but you'll see…" Fllay said, inching closer to Lacus. "You just wait and see… you'll regret everything you said about me." Fllay said and with that last threat, she walked ahead of Lacus and out of sight.

Lacus' mood changed for a while and she marched along the corridor through the opposite direction from which Fllay took. She sat on the few stair steps on the school's main entrance and thought to herself until Ms. Ramius sat beside her.

"Happy birthday Ms. Clyne…" she said as she sat down and smiled.

"Thank you ma'am…" Lacus said, the flattering surprise taking over her.

"Why the sad mood? It's your birthday!" Ms. Ramius said in more of a friendly tone rather than a teacher to student manner of speech.

"Nothing ma'am… oh and by the way, will you go to my party later?" Lacus asked her optimistically.

"Really? Thanks a lot for inviting me… I'd be delighted to come… but… don't think that I'm stepping on your personal bubble but I saw you and Ms. Alster a while ago…" Ms. Ramius said in a hushed tone.

"M-ma'am… I was carried away…" Lacus tried to explain.

Ms. Ramius smiled. "It's not your fault an ill-mannered girl came across your way. But let me just tell you something, a girl like her is just bothered with jealousy. Don't let her get your spirits down, okay?" she advised Lacus warmly.

After a few more minutes of discussion, Ms. Ramius reminded Lacus that it was almost time for lunch and she'd better be preparing for her party that afternoon.

* * *

After getting dressed and gathering their presents, the boys proceeded to Lacus' place to have a little sound check. Since they got there, they haven't seen Lacus yet and the servants assisted them to the ballroom where a small stage had been put up with all the needed instruments.

"Cool!" Nicol said, trying his hand at the keyboard.

They did some practicing with Kira and Athrun on the guitars, Yzak on the bass, Nicol on the keyboard and Dearka on the drums. At times they switched places but they stuck up for the original arrangement. They were given a line-up of songs to perform and they are very nervous about the idea of performing in front of their fellow students later. It was a good thing enough that they are just supposed to wear casual clothes for it will be harder if the motif is formal.

"I just wish I'd be on vacation for Lacus' debut… next year…" Yzak said and the other boys laughed.

"Oh yeah… she'll be turning eighteen next year…" Nicol said, contemplatively.

"And so are we…" Dearka added to Nicol's statement.

After some in-between chats while practicing, Lacus finally arrived to greet them. She was very beautiful indeed with her dress since she never wore jeans in fact. The four boys kidded on Kira to ask her to dance at this moment.

"Shut up…" Kira snapped and Lacus giggled.

"Uh Lacus, I was just wondering if we're going to get our talent fees paid for this…" Athrun joked.

They laughed for a bit. "Sorry Athrun… I don't think you're already in show business to ask for talent fees!" Lacus shot back.

While waiting for the guests to arrive, the boys practiced. Lacus left them for a while to attend to the ones that already arrived. Lunamaria and Meyrin arrived first. They greeted the four boys and it seemed peculiar to them that Meyrin greeted Athrun in quite a different manner.

"I wonder if she fancies Athrun…" Nicol whispered to Kira.

Kira just shrugged and chuckled. "She's no match for my sister!" he whispered back to Nicol.

"Ooh… gossip-talk is it boys?" Lunamaria said, squeezing in the middle of them.

"Not really Luna…" Nicol said, trying to restrain his laughter.

After quite a while, the ballroom was filled with guests and the Lacus informed her best friends about the boys doing the live band thing and they were more than thrilled to hear about it. Majority of the female guests were in jeans and shirts and some are in skirts like Miriallia. Natalie was wearing capri pants while both Shiho and Cagalli wore flared jeans. (author's note: Milly isn't in a mini-skirt, okay? Just imagine her clothes to be kind of sporty, not that girly as Lacus.)

"So that explains why my dear brother left so early…" Cagalli remarked.

Then Lacus told them about the encounter with Fllay earlier and they all had violent reactions. "Damn that girl! You should've called us!" Shiho said.

"Yeah! We would've kicked her butt!" Natalie added.

"Hang on Nat, how did you get here? Were you allowed?" Lacus asked, worrying that Natalie might get into trouble.

Natalie was silent for a while until she revealed it. "Well… I kind of… sneaked out!" she said.

"Silly girl…" Miriallia said and they laughed.

They settled themselves in a table and recognized most of the guests as their classmates and some from the other classes. Lacus left them for a while so she can tend to the other guests. The crowd cheered when Mr. La Flaga and Ms. Ramius came in together.

"Ooh… I wonder if there's a blossoming romance between them!" Stellar said from the other table.

"Sshh! Stellar!" Meyrin shushed her.

They waved to the girls who waved back cheerily at them.

"Gee, Lacus' a bit too busy entertaining all the guests…" Miriallia commented.

"Oh! There's Mia!" Cagalli said, pointing at a girl from across the room, waving frantically at them.

They waved back as well. "Is that for real?" Shiho asked the other girls who shrugged. "Anyway, any sign of the orchestra?" Shiho said and they laughed.

"Most probably trying to do their make-up!" Natalie said and they howled with laughter.

"If I were to wear those, I'd probably look prettier than you." A voice said from behind them.

"DEARKA!" they shrieked.

Natalie and Shiho wanted to hide and lock themselves forever, seeing the scornful looks on the boys' faces.

"Oops" they said in chorus.

"W-we were just kidding guys! N-n-no offense meant!" Shiho said defensively.

The boys took their turn in laughing. "Nah… we're just kidding too." Kira said.

"But I guarantee Natalie is no match for me!" Dearka said jokingly.

"When are you guys going to start playing?" Miriallia asked Athrun, avoiding contact with Dearka's eyes.

Dearka noticed it but kept his cool and waited for the right time to approach Miriallia. "Later I guess…" Athrun replied and turned to Cagalli.

Cagalli smiled nervously and was momentarily distracted by Natalie and Shiho giggling like idiots. Yzak was fuming of getting hungry again and Nicol was getting bugged. Kira was sharing their song lists with them and the girls were delighted.

Miriallia can't take it anymore. She can't stand avoiding Dearka. "Uhm… Dearka… can we talk?" Miriallia suddenly said and interrupted Dearka and Nicol's talk.

Nicol urged him to talk to Miriallia and he did so. They walked a bit farther away and talked. Dearka was pretty silent and prepared himself for whatever is coming. Miriallia took a deep breath and cleared her throat to speak.

"Dearka… I just want to thank you for the gift… I really appreciate it. Thank you." She said and looked at him straight in the eye.

"Oh… t-that's okay…" Dearka stammered and smiled nervously.

"And uhm… sorry if I wasn't able to talk to you right away… I was just waiting for the right time…" she said and tried to smile.

"Uhm… Miriallia… I think… I should not be bothering you with my feelings and I think I should apologize." Dearka said and looked down.

"No… it's okay. I like you just the same, actually…" Miriallia said and blushed while Dearka did too.

Lacus was introducing them and Miriallia tried to shrug off the formality between them. "Go on, you're up! Good luck!" she said and Dearka excused himself before running off.

When Miriallia came back, the girls had funny looks on her faces. After the first song, they went off to the second and most of the guests were dancing on the dance floor. Lacus went over to them and they chatted for a while. The four conspired to torture Lacus while Kira is singing.

"Good thing Fllay's not here!" Cagalli said and they laughed out loud.

"Why aren't you looking at Athrun, Cagalli?" Lacus shot back at her.

When Cagalli fell silent, they all laughed at her. They boys sang song after song and the audiences were highly amused. The girls can't believe that they can sing and play instruments.

Shiho was absentmindedly staring at Yzak who was playing the bass. Suddenly, in a flicker of light, Yzak looked up and met her eye. For a moment, Shiho was not sure whether to look away or smile but something in her made her smile at the bass player. Yzak was taken aback, thinking if Shiho was for real, smiling at him; nevertheless, he smiled back and a bunch of girls drooling before him thought that he smiled for them.

Natalie, on the other hand was glad that the issue between her and Nicol is finally settled and they can be close friends again like before. Miriallia was feeling the same and was really happy that Dearka was ready to understand if she wasn't ready for a relationship yet for she needed to think it over.

Cagalli was still unsure about doing the same thing Miriallia did and talking to Dearka about her thing with Athrun. She wants to talk to him but whenever she tries, she gets tongue-tied and end up blabbing an unclear sentence. Unknown to her, Athrun had something special planned for her.

Suddenly, they stopped singing and Yzak seemed to be announcing something on the microphone. Lacus and the others stopped and listened.

"Uhm… Kira will go down for a minute to ask the birthday celebrant for a special dance…" he said.

The crowd cheered, including Lacus' parents who were having a discussion with Mr. La Flaga and Ms. Ramius. Kira went over to Lacus and offered his hand. Lacus took it hesitantly at first until the music played again.

At this moment, they are the only ones on the dance floor. Lacus was really red in the face and so is Kira. As the lights grew dim, Kira smiled sweetly at her and whispered, "Happy birthday" in her ear.

Mr. Clyne was telling the two teachers and his wife that he will never object with Kira if ever he plans to court his only daughter and the same goes with Mrs. Clyne.

"Uhm… I would like to dedicate this song… to Cagalli… I wrote it for you." Athrun suddenly said before starting to sing.

Cagalli stopped her thinking and looked at him while he sang the first verse. Nicol was looking at Natalie who smiled at him. Yzak was singing the back up vocals. Dearka had a glimpse of Miriallia holding up a small wave at him that inspired him to play his best.

"Oh my gosh… Cagalli! I'm getting the shivers!" Natalie said and hugged Cagalli.

"I'm petrified…" Cagalli said, still in shock.

Suddenly, Rey approached Shiho and asked for a dance. Yzak could be seen looking at them but he smiled and Shiho took at as permission to dance with Rey.

Auel tired to snag a dance with Cagalli but she can barely speak due to the shock that was sent by the lyrics of Athrun's song. And so, he ended up asking Meyrin to dance.

Mr. and Mrs. Clyne danced too, along with Mr. La Flaga and Ms. Ramius. Lacus was certainly happy in spending her seventeenth birthday, dancing with the first guy she ever liked in her entire life.

"Kira… thank you so much for everything." She said, looking up at him with a smile.

"I'll do everything for you…" he said softly.

* * *

**ahehehe... so how was it? honestly, i'm really not sure about Lacus Clyne's birthday... but just bear with me through this...! if there's a problem, send a review and i'll try to sort things out with your suggestions in making this fic! oh an by the way, Athrun's compositon will be posted on chapter 16 so watch out for that... thanks a lot for ALL the reviews you guys sent me, i really appreciate it! thanks so much! i'll update as fast as i can... ja ne!**


	16. changes occur on occasion

**finally! chapter sixteen is up! thanks for those who gave me words of encouragement in finding my phone, thought i wasn't able to identify the culprit, i guess the phone wasn't meant for me... teehee... i'm still modifying chapter 17 so just wait for it. advance merry christmas to all!**

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny**

* * *

Auel felt real bad when Natalie told her to leave for a while since Cagalli was still trying to cope with the shock of hearing that Athrun will play a song he wrote.

_I will be there _

_Always waiting _

_Waiting for you _

_To let me inside _

_Where your fire burns _

_In a city of angels _

_Just like a river rushing straight into the sea _

_I'm the one thing meant for you and you for me _

"Oh my god…" Miriallia said, taking in the song lyrics. "C-Cagalli… this must mean something!" she said, shaking Cagalli who still looked blankly at her and Natalie.

Rey was dancing with Shiho and was telling her how he was sorry to have done what he did to her the past weeks. Shiho just told him to forget about it all since she had gotten over what happened. Somehow, she wasn't really paying much attention to Rey's apologies; she was looking at Yzak up at the stage.

_Whatever you want _

_Whatever you need _

_Whatever it takes, I'll do anything _

Meyrin Hawke could be heard screaming for Athrun from the dance floor, annoying the wits off Auel. Lunamaria was spending some time with an old friend, Sting Oakley who went to the party with Auel. Shinn and Stellar were just dancing and were teasing Mr. La Flaga and Ms. Ramius as they danced.

"You're lucky we're not in school Asuka, or I might have given you detention!" Mr. La Flaga said seriously.

Shinn gulped nervously. Stellar, on the other hand thought it was a fun idea and supported it that delighted Mr. La Flaga. Ms. Ramius was just laughing along with them and they danced.

_And as you sleep _

_Eyes to the window _

_I'm watching you dream _

_Well are you dreaming of me? _

_So why can't you see _

_You're all that matters _

_You know if this earth should crack _

_I'll be your solid ground _

_I will be there to catch you when you fall down _

Cagalli couldn't believe her ears. _"Is it just me or is Athrun out of his mind writing something like this?"_ she thought to herself, her eyes fixed at the blue-haired boy up at the stage, singing his heart out.

Natalie leaned on Cagalli's shoulder and heaved a dreamy sigh. "Oh Cagalli… he really likes you!" she said to the blonde girl beside her.

"Aw! You two had songs written for you and I still haven't received any!" Miriallia said jokingly.

Cagalli smiled softly as she caught Athrun's eye. Dearka was peeking from the back and he and Nicol looked at each other and chuckled at the sight of Athrun nearly missing a note because he kept looking at Cagalli, good thing it wasn't obvious since Yzak was doing his best to cover up for Athrun's nervousness.

"Then ask Dearka to hire an orchestra to play a song for you!" Natalie said and the three of them laughed out.

_Whatever you want _

_Whatever you need _

_Whatever it takes, I'll do anything _

_If I have to crawl _

_Get down on my knees _

_Whatever it takes, I'll do anything_

"Really now… then tell me what you will do if Nicol sings his song for you?" Miriallia shot back at her and it shut Natalie up.

Kira was dancing in the middle with Lacus. The pink-haired girl felt like she couldn't ask for anything more than to make this moment last forever. She didn't expect to be spending her birthday this way and she's more than thankful that it turned out the way it did.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Lacus?" Kira asked concernedly since she was silent for a moment.

Lacus smiled. "Of course I am! Thank so much, really… this is more than I have expected." She said to Kira.

Kira felt happy knowing that she appreciated what he did and he didn't really plan on doing it, he just felt like he had to do something spontaneous for her.

"I like you Kira. You're always full of surprises and you never fail to amaze me. Thanks." Lacus said sincerely.

_I'd take the stars right out of the sky for you _

_I'd end the world give you the sun, the moon _

_For all of time, forever loving you _

_Whatever you need _

_Whatever it takes, I'll do anything _

_If I have to crawl _

_Get down on my knees _

_Whatever it takes, I'll do anything_

Suddenly, Shiho stopped dancing with Rey and excused herself for not paying much attention to the guy. Rey understood perfectly well why her mind seemed to be afloat somewhere else. It was because of a certain boy up there, singing a song that captivated many of the guests.

The song ended and a warm applause broke from the crowd as they stopped dancing for a while. Athrun just had a small smile on his face and Dearka could be seen telling him something that made Nicol laugh like mad. Mia Campbell could be heard cheering hysterically for Athrun who couldn't hear her since he was a bit too far from where she was. Shiho was standing at the dance floor, alone since Rey already walked away. She just couldn't move at the sight of Yzak looking at her too.

"Shiho!" came Miriallia's voice. She was striding towards her and dragging her away from the mass of people. When they finally reached the table, Natalie still won't stop bugging Cagalli with all the "Athrun-Cagalli-sitting-on-a-tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g" song she had been singing for quite a while now.

"Uh… what were you up to standing there?" Miriallia asked Shiho while she handed her a glass of iced tea.

Shiho sipped from the straw and shrugged. "I-I wasn't aware I was doing that!" Shiho answered quite freaked-out.

Lacus looked like she stopped dancing with Kira and announced that they will just play music from cd's since it was time to eat and the boys are definitely hungry. They rushed to the buffet, without even thinking of going to the girls' table first and everybody laughed at the sight of the four boys, being followed by Kira, being the first in line at the long buffet table.

"Dearka you pig! Give that back!" Nicol said, snatching the chicken leg Dearka stole from his plate.

"I'm not a pig you chicken!" Dearka argued, getting a chicken leg from the platter and making it two.

Yzak and Athrun exchanged looks of confusion and Yzak inched a bit away from the two guys arguing in front of him. "Uhh… what's with the farm talk?" Athrun asked Yzak.

The silver-haired boy shrugged. "Dunno… and who cares!" he said and they went on with getting their food as the people piled up.

While eating dinner, Miriallia was talking with Dearka comfortably as if nothing really happened and like Dearka never confessed anything. For the two of them, it seemed a bit better that way. Both are still afraid of commitment and aren't in a rush for things and so, they decided to set the matter aside for the mean time.

"You didn't tell me you could play…" Miriallia said to Dearka with a smirk on her face.

Dearka chuckled. "I never told anyone I could!" he said defensively.

Miriallia laughed. "It doesn't matter… you were great up there." She said and smiled sincerely.

Dearka blushed but he thanked Miriallia for the comment on his performance.

Nicol and Natalie sat beside each other rather quietly. Natalie hated silence and so she decided to take charge and break the ice. She took a deep breath and concentrated hard on what she has to do. First, she glanced at Nicol who was eating spaghetti like mad.

"Hungry?" she asked casually and giggled.

Nicol's eyes grew wide in surprise and nearly choked. Natalie quickly gave him his glass of water and he drank it up. Natalie laughed again. "Does keyboarding make you this hungry that you don't even talk?" she asked again.

Nicol smiled nervously. "No… I… just thought you'd don't want to talk." He explained.

Natalie looked at him puzzled. "Me? Why would I not want to talk?" she asked. Nicol just shrugged. "Well maybe…" he stammered.

Natalie wanted to clear things up and spoke for herself. "Nicol… if this is about what happened-" she began but Nicol cut her off.

"No, I understand perfectly why you did that… and I was such a jerk. I'm sorry, by the way." He said, finally getting it off his chest that this isn't the right time for him and Natalie.

Natalie's eyes lighted up and she smiled. "Thank you. So… no more silent-treatment?" she asked him and held up her pinky finger for a deal.

Nicol was surprised but he too, held up his pinky to close the deal. As his finger entwined with hers, he smiled. "Deal." With that, he also noticed that she was still wearing the necklace he gave her.

As for Athrun and Cagalli, they are the pair who cannot speak at all. They just ate silently, constantly disturbed by Dearka and Miriallia's teasing.

"Cagalli, won't you just thank him at least? It took him four nights to finish that song!" Dearka said, determined to beat the wits off Athrun.

"Dearka!" Athrun said, almost tossing his plate at Dearka's face.

"What? I just told the truth!" he said tactfully.

Cagalli was blushing like mad. "You know, you two should be better off talking now… you're wasting time!" Miriallia said and turned to Dearka. "C'mon Dearka, we better leave them…" she said and dragged Dearka to the dance floor even before he can finish his last bite of cake.

It still took Athrun a while to speak up and so, it was Cagalli who bravely did the first move. "Uhm… I didn't know you could sing…" she tried and nearly smacked herself for saying something that stupid.

"W-well… I'm not that good…" he said and chuckled. "It took me years to learn how to sing…" he said.

Cagalli was starting to feel comfortable and wanted the conversation to continue. "T-Thanks… for the wonderful song. I don't really know what came into your mind that you wrote that!" she kidded him.

Athrun laughed a bit. "Listen, I'm sorry if I trespassed on your privacy… that is… when I read your stray notes and replied to it… I'm really sorry." He said, his sincerity reflected in his eyes.

Cagalli was really touched by this and decided that even if she'd get mad at him, it won't change the fact that he already knows what's on her mind. "It's okay Athrun… it's not like I can still lie about it, can't I?" she said and stifled a soft laugh.

Athrun was glad that she didn't take it seriously. Cagalli thanked him for it and said that she was really touched by it. Athrun cannot believe his ears and he wanted so bad to hug her but he held himself back, thinking it will not be such a good idea.

"I… uhm… I don't want to rush you in things and I am certainly not wanting to be a bother to you so… don't mind me if I say what I feel…" Athrun tried to explain.

Cagalli smiled warmly and nodded. "I know Athrun… Kira already told me about these stuff and that you're one person who will never be a pain in the neck…" she began and Athrun didn't know whether he will thank Kira or strangle him for saying that he can possibly be a pain in the neck. "And thanks for understanding that… I just had a misconception about the Mia thing…" she finished.

Athrun laughed again for a bit. "Mia…" he began and glanced at Mia who was talking with some of her friends at a nearby table. "She's better of finding someone else… I'm not really interested in her… no offense…" Athrun said, stressing on the last phrase.

The two of them shared another joke or two before Athrun finally invited Cagalli to dance. They were dancing alongside Miriallia and Dearka and they ridiculed one another with jokes.

Shiho and Yzak were fighting over a slice of triple chocolate cake that Cagalli decided that she don't want to eat because of the additional calories it can add to her weight.

"Cagalli gave that to me, you twurp!" Shiho demanded and pulled the plate closer to her.

"Uh, duh, I thought girls cared about weight? This is mine!" Yzak said and pulled the plate closer to him.

Suddenly, Rey Za Burrel passed by and smiled knowingly at the pair of chocolate cake lovers who looked at him wide eyes. When he walked away, Yzak gave up his struggle. "H-have it…" he said and turned to drinking his iced tea.

Shiho blushed and hid it behind her long locks. "Why the sudden change of mind?" she tired to shrug off the sudden formality.

Yzak drank all the contents of the glass. "Figure it out." He simply said.

"Why should I? Is there something I have to figure out, huh, Yzak?" she said, trying to get the information out of him. When she realized that Yzak was a bit thunderstruck, she decided to take the statement back. "I was kidding." She said and looked down on the chocolate cake.

They saw Rey was dancing with Lunamaria on the dance floor. They looked at each other and both smiled a bit. "I see he got tired of me…" Shiho muttered.

Yzak's brows furrowed. "Huh? How come?" he asked.

Shiho shrugged. "'Cause I was paying attention to someone else while we were dancing…" she said, hoping it would make him realize that she's talking about him.

Yzak chuckled and smirked at her. "Why? Wasn't he enough to get your permanent attention?" he shot back at her in a teasing way.

Shiho wasn't ready to give up. "Nope… I liked the music… that's why I can't focus on him." she said, almost giving out clues. Suddenly she felt like she was ready to tell him that he's someone she wanted to keep.

Yzak looked at her, his eyes wide in surprise. Shiho was amused, seeing him surprised like that and she took it back again. "I was just pulling your leg…" she said and took the first bite from the cake.

Yzak heaved a sigh. Shiho was really amused at how the silver-haired coordinator felt uneasy when it comes to emotional conversations. She took it as opportunities to win over him. Suddenly, the two of them fell silent.

Shiho giggled. "Sorry… I just thought I'd play a joke or two…" she said and stood up.

All of a sudden, Yzak grabbed her hand and looked as if he has to say something that he couldn't really say. "Uh… I… w-well… I'm sorry." He said.

Shiho was confused. "Huh?" she asked him.

Then Yzak got frustrated of himself. "Urgh! This is damn buggin' me!" he said and walked away, dragging Dearka from Miriallia as he passed the two of them by.

"Yzak!" Dearka yelled. "Yzak! What's the problem?" Miriallia said, catching up with the two.

Meanwhile, Lacus and Kira were still on the table, momentarily startled by Shiho and Yzak but decided that the two are better off left to their own business. Lacus looked around at the people dancing and laughed at seeing her parents and Mr. La Flaga and Ms. Ramius dancing there.

"I can't believe I'm already seventeen…" she said quietly to Kira.

"Why?" he answered with a question.

Lacus sighed and smiled. "Nothing… it's just that… time flies too fast." She said, her mind focused on the joys of the people around her.

"Uhm… come, I wanna show you something." He said and took her hand in his. They stood up and went out of the ballroom and into the garden.

"What is it?" she asked.

Kira smiled thoughtfully and dug something from inside his pocket. It was wrapped in pink paper and decorated with ribbons. Lacus took it and was touched by receiving something from Kira. "Uhm… I asked Cagalli to wrap it…" he said, trying to point out why it had ribbons on it.

Lacus opened it and found a woven bracelet. "Oh my god…" she said, fascinatingly staring at the bracelet that was a mix of light blue and navy blue.

"I… made it for you… I just thought you'd do with the color blue for a change…" he stammered, explaining why his gift was as simple as that.

"This is something priceless Kira… and you can't expect me to treasure it." she said serenely and stood on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his cheek. "This is the best birthday I have ever had." She said.

Kira was speechless and was red like a freshly-picked tomato. Lacus just laughed at him and was a little shy herself. "Sorry if that was unexpected… it's really the first time I kissed a guy." She said and walked away, trying to get the bracelet secure around her wrist.

Yzak, Dearka and Miriallia are talking while sitting on the marble construction of the fountain in the garden. Dearka wasn't really paying attention and Miriallia was the one trying to help Yzak out. He told her about the conversation with Shiho that ended with him walking out.

"Shiho was kidding, yeah… but I think you could've done a sort of reading between the lines thing…" Miriallia said, finding it hard how to tell the guy right off that her friend likes him. "What I am meaning to say is… uhm… wait a sec, Yzak Jule, do you like Shiho?" she said, standing up and looking at him sternly.

Yzak was caught unarmed by the question and he, himself, stood up to face Miriallia. "I… I do not!" he said with a mean glare.

"H-hey… Yzak… would you mind, I don't like you staring at her like that!" Dearka said, standing in the middle.

"Just admit it!" Miriallia said, grabbing Yzak's shoulder and shaking him as if attempting to shake out the words from him.

"Miriallia! Stop!" Dearka yelped and tried to pull Miriallia away before she starts strangling Yzak.

"Fine! I do! Now just help me, will you?" Yzak snapped irritably at Miriallia.

Miriallia jumped happily and clapped her hands. "Yay me! I gotcha Yzak!" she said, cheering for herself.

When she realized that Yzak was sending her death glares, she decided she better get serious. "Well… you could at least show her you care!" she said, sitting down again.

"I'm not showy" he said simply.

Miriallia rolled her eyes. "Then why don't you tell her instead?" she suggested again.

"I don't want to" he said again.

"That does it!" the brunette girl said angrily. "You're too wishy-washy in making decisions!" she said and started striding off angrily.

Dearka followed her, leaving Yzak alone by the fountain to think of what he could do. He just saw Rey and Shiho dancing, although he pretty much allowed her to do so, he still can't bear the fact that he did that. Not that he's jealous; he just wished he had the heart to ask her for a dance just like Rey.

"If only I'd stop being a wimp…" he muttered to herself.

"You can start by saying you're sorry."

Yzak was startled that someone spoke from behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Shiho standing there, with her arms crossed in front of her and was surprisingly wearing a ponytail. She just sat beside him casually.

"It's kinda hot…" she said, pertaining to the new hair do.

Yzak gulped. He didn't know what to say. Shiho was getting impatient. "You are such a wimp Yzak. First, you seem okay then the next minute, I can't read your mind! I'm not in for a guessing game so just tell me off." She said as if her words didn't weigh a lot.

"I just… I just wanted to do the same things that Rey can do! That's it! I just hoped that someday I'd be brave enough to do what my friends can do! Don't you understand?" Yzak finally said, his voice rising.

Shiho wasn't surprised even if it looked as if he's being temperamental again. It was like she didn't mind. Instead, she smiled warmly and looked at him. "You don't have to copy what they can… but you have to stick with what you can and make the most out of it." she said before standing up and walking away.

Yzak was astounded, seeing her walking away, hearing her yawn and seeing her stretch her arms lazily as she walked back to the ballroom, leaving him sitting at the fountain again.

"She didn't even wait for me to speak." He told himself quietly.

Shiho sat back down with Natalie and Nicol. The two asked her curiously about what happened and she told them what exactly took place and Nicol frowned.

"Stupid" Nicol said, shaking his head in dismay. "I can believe Yzak is such a stupid dumbbag!" Nicol said.

Natalie rolled her eyes. Shiho just shrugged and looked as if she couldn't care less. "As if I can do anything about it. I did my part, I'm off!" she said and smiled happily.

Natalie and Nicol looked at each other. "Whatever you say…" Natalie said and dismissed the topic.

Meanwhile, Athrun and Cagalli were taking a walk around the place and it amazed Athrun that Cagalli knew a bit about playing the guitar. It was so when they walked up near the stage and Cagalli spotted an acoustic guitar and picked it up. Athrun sat beside her and eyed her curiously.

Athrun chuckled to himself as he watched her. "What do you think you're doing?" he said mockingly.

It didn't look like Cagalli's nerves have been pulled. "Playing obviously…" she said as she played a tune.

"Kira didn't tell me you knew how to play." The blue-haired boy said.

"Well now you know…" Cagalli said, stopping for a while. "Aw, I forgot how to do the C chord!" she whined.

Athrun chuckled and gently guided her fingers to touch the right string. As he did so, he didn't notice that Cagalli was red the whole time. "There." He said and let go of her hand.

"Thanks" Cagalli said, trying her best to sound as casual as possible.

After several tries, she finally got it right. Athrun clapped a bit for her as she ridiculed him and claimed that she was better at it. Suddenly, a thought hit Cagalli.

"Oh my god"

Athrun blinked. "What's up?" he asked her.

Cagalli was shaking him frantically. "WE HAVE A PROJECT THAT'S DUE ON FRIDAY!" she said, freaking out.

Athrun's eyes nearly bulged. "Damn! That project!" he said, recalling the thing Cagalli is telling him.

Meanwhile, Miriallia and Dearka were hanging out in the garden, watching the stars and having a counting race. Dearka easily gets confused and Miriallia enjoyed winning over him.

"Milly… I'm getting tired of this star thingy…" Dearka whined and rolled his eyes.

Miriallia slapped his arm playfully. "It's fun to look at!" she retorted.

"How about… we make a solar system model for our project?" Dearka suggested since they were really talking about the project at the first place.

"Not a bad idea Dearka!" Miriallia said excitedly.

Unknown to them, Nicol and Natalie were watching them from a distance, hiding behind the bushes and plants.

"Natalie! Get your head out of the way!" Nicol said, trying to get her out of the view. "I can't see a thing!" he whispered through gritted teeth.

"Ssh! Stop complaining Amarfi!" Natalie scolded him. "I'm watching!" she said and ignored Nicol.

Nicol frowned. "You're so unfair! I want to see what they're up to!" he said, trying to squeeze himself so he can get a better view.

"Oh shut up… they're just stargazing and all!" Natalie said and turned to Nicol.

As the two of them argued, they didn't notice that Dearka and Miriallia finally realized they are being watched by two debating eavesdroppers.

"Well, well, well…"

Nicol and Natalie stopped fighting and slowly looked up to see Dearka and Miriallia peering over their heads. Both were really nervous that they got themselves into trouble.

Nicol stood up to explain as Natalie did so too. "W-w-were… uhm w-what it is… uh…" Nicol stammered and stepped on Natalie's foot for back-up.

Natalie bit her lip since she didn't want to add up to their problem by beating up Nicol for stepping on her foot. "We were just… just…" she tried.

"Spying?" Dearka said, completing her sentence for her.

"No! We're not spying!" Natalie said defensively.

Miriallia was rather amused than mad. "Drop it, Dearka… we can plan for a payback instead, you know…" she said mockingly.

"Payback?" Nicol asked.

Dearka was agreeing with Miriallia. "We'll get back at you both… you'll see…" the blonde guy said. Miriallia said goodbye to Natalie and headed back inside as Dearka followed her.

Natalie and Nicol were thinking of what they meant by saying 'payback'. "Don't tell me… they're planning of…" Natalie was saying. "Revenge?" Nicol asked.

"This is all your fault Amarfi!" Natalie blamed Nicol.

"What did I do? You're the one who said we'll watch them!" Nicol answered back.

As the two numbskulls fought, Lacus was already announcing her thank-you's to the people who attended her party and even did the honors in reminding her classmates that they have a project for Art class.

Nicol and Natalie finally came in and Shiho told them about what Lacus just said since they missed about eighty percent of the celebrant's speech. After everybody was gone, Lacus thanked her friends personally, and also Mr. La Flaga and Ms. Ramius.

When the two teachers have gone, Lacus was really thankful to the five boys who played the music for her birthday. "I really can't thank you guys enough. You were great!" she said, praising them wholeheartedly.

"Just promise to never, ever do that again!" Yzak said, still in contrast with the whole band idea.

All of them laughed for a bit, even Shiho did. "Fine Yzak, but next time, I'll be sure to tell you guys in advance!" Lacus said, trying to unnerve Yzak.

Yzak made a face that made everyone laugh and told Lacus that if that next time will happen, she will definitely have to pay his talent fee.

"We better get going guys, it's getting late." Miriallia reminded them.

"Happy birthday again, Lacus!" Cagalli said, hugging her. "Or should I say… sis?" she said, teasingly.

"Cagalli!" Lacus said, taken aback. Cagalli just giggled. "I was joking." She said as the rest took their turns in hugging Lacus.

It was a bit exciting when it got to Kira's turn, everyone was watching. "Happy birthday again." he greeted the pink-haired girl.

"Thank you so much Kira, for making this night memorable." She whispered back to him.

"What was that?" Miriallia whispered to Dearka who just shrugged since he too, did not hear what Lacus just said to Kira.

"Okay guys, you better go home… see you tomorrow!" Lacus said, bidding them goodbye.

Yzak wanted to tell Shiho something and offered her a ride home. All the girls were cool about the idea and forced Shiho to say yes. They left, followed by Dearka and Miriallia. The last to leave were Athrun and the twins. After bidding Cagalli goodbye, Athrun walked to his car and rode home. Kira and Cagalli left too.

When the twins arrived at home, Cagalli just felt the urge to ask Kira something, since her brother was pretty giddy and happy. "You are soooo in love with her, aren't you?" she said with a wicked smile.

Kira smirked. "Whatever you say…" he said and yawned.

"My brother is in love! My brother is in love!" Cagalli chanted annoyingly but Kira didn't mind.

"Hypocrite… you love Athrun!" he shot back at his twin sister.

"That does it…" Cagalli said angrily.

**-_BLAG_-**

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**what happened to Kira, you ask? hehehe... just watch out on chapter 17! let's just hope the ultimate coordinator lives through this! haha! please review! thanks a lot! ... ja ne!**


	17. bonding over projects

**hello everyone! sorry it took me ages to update... i was just a bit too busy with all the christmas happenings and stuff! so here's chapter seventeen... these events will be covered in two chapters so if just in case i failed to put in some lovely moments between the pairings, i apologize right away.** **so here it is, enjoy! **

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny**

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The next day, Kira went to school with a broken wrist. Everyone who noticed it asked him why the heck he had a broken wrist. Cagalli usually took the honor in telling them why the great Kira Yamato had to go around with a bandaged wrist that was utterly disturbing since everyone knows he's the ultimate coordinator and he was the last person to be expected to get a broken wrist.

"I am honored to say that I did that to Kira since he can't keep his big mouth shut!" Cagalli announced to the class during break time.

Everybody had a great laugh and Kira wanted to drown in shame for even his personal circle of friends were laughing their heads off.

"I think I ought to believe Cagalli that you're younger…" Yzak said and smirked wickedly at the brown-haired coordinator, hiding behind his chemistry textbook.

"Shut the hell up Yzak!" Kira hissed under his breath and cursed his sister for being so mean.

What bugged him most was to see Lacus laughing along with the others, although she wasn't really laughing because he got hurt, she was laughing because of Cagalli's comical remark.

"Don't sulk there Kira, you're sister's just funny!" Dearka said, still laughing along with Athrun, Yzak and Nicol.

Kira scowled and before Athrun and Nicol could even do their part on pestering him, signs of a coordinator going on SEED-mode. Mr. La Flaga arrived, clearly, the man is in a good mood, perhaps it was because of Ms. Ramius last night as the class assumed.

"Goodmorning everybody!" he greeted with a rather boyish smile.

The class exchanged looks while settling themselves in their proper seats. Athrun and Cagalli were talking and kidding around that Mr. La Flaga might be trying to get a move on with Ms. Ramius.

"Athrun, Cagalli… don't you know it's not nice to talk about your teachers?" Mr. La Flaga said, apparently hearing their little discussion.

Cagalli feigned a smile and Athrun gulped. "But what's the real score, sir?" came Miriallia's voice all of a sudden.

The class was hanging on to Mr. La Flaga's every word. "Well… argh! Nosy children!" he said, pretending to be angry.

They all laughed and then he motioned for them to quiet down. "Well as you all know, we will be having our intramurals right after Halloween… and then the next occasion will be our Christmas party… and by next year… it will be your spring time dances and all the other school occasions. Team captains will be met by Ms. Badgiruel for the training schedules." He said, announcing their school's activities.

Then came the moment of truth; Mr. La Flaga reached inside his briefcase for their report cards. Most of them were burying their faces in their hands due to nervousness. Dearka was nervously fiddling with his pencil when he accidentally broke it apart and startled Miriallia.

"Here comes the horror movie of the century…" Shiho muttered uneasily.

Mr. La Flaga distributed their grades one by one. Some were eager to open it but some hesitated for a while, including Nicol. Natalie was as nervous as him but she knew she had to open hers sooner or later.

Natalie browsed through her card and she got a majority of A's for major and minor subjects. She heaved a sigh of relief as Nicol opened his. He got the same average as Natalie and was thankful enough that he made it to the honor rankings.

Kira and Lacus were browsing through theirs and Lacus shrieked in happiness when she found out that she also qualified for honors. Kira did so too and was completely relieved that he made it for he swore he won't get through his junior year without honors.

Athrun was shocked that he didn't flunk chemistry and even got an A for it thanks to Cagalli. Thankfully, the both of them also qualified for honors and ended up in a tie. Athrun endlessly thanked Cagalli for if it weren't for her, he would have failed a subject and faced a beating from his father. Cagalli was happy that she qualified.

Miriallia absentmindedly shrieked in happiness that she passed all her subjects. Dearka was still not in the mood to open his card but after a bit of coaxing from Miriallia, he did. His eyes widened in surprise that he even got an average of A. He can't believe that his father will soon be buying him a new car in exchange for his guarantee that he can get through the honor roll.

As for Shiho, many members of the class started thanking her for tutoring them in physics. Indeed, she was the one who got the highest grade in the subject. Even Yzak thanked her for helping him. Both of them were kidding that their mothers will be proud to be on stage for their recognition day.

"I am very happy that most of you qualified for honors… your recognition day will be right before the Halloween break." Mr. La Flaga said with a very proud smile before leaving the class.

When he left, most of them were jumping up and down, exchanging high fives and triumphant hugs. Mia felt bad that she only qualified for achievers but nevertheless thankful for it. When Ms. Ramius arrived, everybody went silent but Cagalli remembered the joke-time with Mr. La Flaga earlier.

"Was Mr. La Flaga kind enough to give you a ride home Ms. Ramius?" Cagalli said suddenly and the class went "Ooh".

Murrue Ramius laughed along with her students and even joked of Mr. La Flaga having an old-fashioned car. The students bombarded her of questions on where they went after the party and if Mr. La Flaga is making moves on their teacher.

"No, I don't think he's even interested in me!" Ms. Ramius said and acted like she was disappointed.

Everybody laughed along. It seems like Ms. Ramius is more comfortable with their class rather than her advisory, since the students in their class are more open and fun-loving.

"Mr. La Flaga is really lucky to have you guys…" she said before moving on with the lesson. "And I would like to congratulate those who made it to the honor roll." She said and led a warm round of applause for the honors.

The class progressed and after few more periods, it was time for lunch. They ate again at the cafeteria at their usual tables. The girls celebrated by drinking their favorite grape sodas. Still, the topic about Natalie's family was brought up eventually by Lacus, who was still worrying about her friend's state.

"Well… I'm okay. Mom's recovering and Dad is out of the country… when he comes back… that's when I don't know if we'll ever see each other again." she said, lowering her head slightly.

Shiho inched closer and hugged Natalie. "Nat… whatever happens, we got your back!" she said as Natalie returned the hug. "I know, thanks." Natalie replied, deeply touched by having friends who would never leave her behind.

Meanwhile, Fllay was sitting alone in a table. Seems like her friends left her for some reason that nobody knows. Mia on the other hand was enjoying the company of some other friends while eating lunch. Suddenly, Meyrin Hawke was walking towards their table.

"Hey!" she greeted the five girls who greeted her cheerily back.

"Cagalli? Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked.

Natalie and Shiho exchanged suspicious looks. "You think this may be about Auel?" Natalie whispered quietly to Shiho who just shrugged.

Cagalli walked away with Meyrin. The two of them stopped just outside the entrance to the cafeteria. Cagalli was pretty sure this has something to do with Auel and she was afraid that Meyrin hates her now.

"I just want to ask you something… are you and Athrun together?" Meyrin asked eagerly.

Cagalli was relieved that it wasn't Auel she asked about. "Huh? Athrun? No…" she said although at the back of her mind, she wished they were.

"I see…" Meyrin said, suddenly turning quiet.

Cagalli knew she stepped on the wrong tile. She should have said or at least lied that she's together with Athrun so that Meyrin won't think that she somehow likes Auel Neider. "Meyrin… if this is about Auel, don't worry, honestly, I'm into Athrun." Cagalli said, hoping that it will change Meyrin's mood.

Just as she suspected, Meyrin was more than happy to hear about it and it was when she hugged Cagalli that shocked the blond girl more. "I'm happy that you said that. Thanks, Cagallli." She said.

"No problem Meyrin!" Cagalli said, returning the friendly hug.

Suddenly, Lunamaria was passing by with Rey Za Burrel and the two girls were a bit surprised seeing them walking side by side along the hallway.

Cagalli and Meyrin exchanged looks of astonishment and giggled to themselves. "So I guess my sister has found her guy…" Meryrin whispered to Cagalli.

After talking, Cagalli went back to their table in the cafeteria and her friends were anticipating the coverstory about the conversation with Meyrin. Natalie and Shiho were the ones bombarding her with tons of questions while Lacus and Miriallia back the two up. Cagalli chuckled and told them exactly what happened in full detail.

"See! I told you it's about Auel!" Natalie said triumphantly.

The other girls sweatdropped. "Uh… duh, that fact was obvious…" Miriallia said and rolled her eyes on Natalie.

As they talked and planned what they have to do for the Halloween, the boys are having their own conversation. The talk mostly revolved around them passing their exams and how their folks will react. Dearka was the only one really fumbling about having a Halloween party that the other four completely ignored.

"Ha! That'll show my mom I'm as good as my twin!" Kira said, almost dancing in giddiness.

"Hey guys! I said we should have a Halloween party!" Dearka fumed, forcing the other four to acknowledge him.

"Dearka… we're too old to go trick or treating!" Nicol contrasted and rolled his eyes before resuming his 'I-made-it-to-the-honor-roll' marathon with Yzak and Athrun.

Dearka was desperate to go on trick or treating and spotted Shinn Asuka and Auel Neider talking and laughing at the other table. He walked up to them and cockily told them about his to-die-for Halloween extravaganza.

"Uh… trick or treat? You mean complete with all the funny costumes and stuff?" Auel clarified and raised an eyebrow at Dearka.

Kira and the others were watching Dearka and were joking that they'd pay a big sum of money just so Shinn and Auel refuse.

Shinn thought hardly about it and Auel was having second thoughts about Dearka's plans. Shinn wanted to play safe. "Who will go?" he asked Dearka.

The three of them looked at Yzak, Kira, Athrun and Nicol. The four guys automatically refused and Dearka threatened to throw Shinn's food tray right at them.

"Hey!" Shinn reacted, shoving his food tray away from Dearka.

"Fine… we'll go if they do. If not, we're not ready to humiliate ourselves just like that." Auel said, just trying to get Dearka away with his Halloween trick or treating fantasies.

Dearka was crestfallen but nevertheless not ready to give up on his Halloween extravaganza and had this crazy idea of asking the girls instead so the boys will not be able to refuse.

After lunch, they all headed back to their classroom. Every other teacher congratulated them for having the most honor students in their class. Ms. Badgiruel announced that team practices will be moved to give way for recognition day purposes. Mr. Newman reminded them of their upcoming projects to be submitted on Friday. They were given the whole period to discuss it about their respective partners.

Lacus was scanning through her earth science textbook while Kira was trying to get ideas out of thin air. "You think making an ecosystem model will be nice?" Lacus suddenly asked him.

"Ecosystem… not a bad idea!" Kira said, his face lighting up. "I'm good with it." he said, pretending he too, was thinking of a nice model when all he can think about is that he can prove himself to Lacus more.

"Well then… we'll work at my house after school… my mom won't allow me to go out and stay out late in the evening." Lacus explained.

"So… we'll go get the materials right after dismissal?" Kira clarified.

"Yup… we'll share the expenses." Lacus said and smirked.

Kira stuck his tongue out at her and they both laughed it off and started to discuss their model.

As for Yzak and Shiho, the two were arguing on what they will make for their project. Shiho was insisting on making a model about the body's nervous system while Yzak was suggesting that they should make something better than showing the class how a brain functions.

"Then what do you suggest we do genius?" Shiho asked him mockingly.

Yzak thought for something to counter her plan but he did not have any ideas. "But… making a brain that lights up and shows how the blood travels around it is just so… lame!" Yzak said angrily.

Shiho's brows furrowed. "Got any better ideas?" she said, her lips twitching violently as if she can let go of an ear-piercing shout any minute now.

Yzak swallowed and sighed. "Fine… we'll make a stupid brain!" Yzak said, rolling his eyes irritably.

Shiho smiled cheerily and gave him a light whack on the head. "Good!" she said.

Miriallia was already excited in making their solar system while Dearka talked about nothing else but his Halloween extravaganza. Miriallia had enough and slapped Dearka with her notebook (chibi style).

"Ow!" Dearka squealed.

"Will you stop talking about trick or treating and focus on our project!" Miriallia said through gritted teeth.

Dearka smiled nervously and begged for forgiveness. "Sorry! I'll focus… but… you'll join my-" Dearka tried again.

Miriallia's eyes turned into slits and Dearka knew he has got to shut up. "I'll shut up!" he said even before Miriallia can roll up her sleeves.

Miriallia calmed down. "Okay… you'll cooperate and shut your mouth about your Halloween plans until we finish this project?" Miriallia asked him sternly.

"Yes! I promise!" Dearka said with a wide grin.

Miriallia, the kind girl that she has always been knew she'd better give a catch so that Dearka will be motivated. "If you keep that promise… I'll join your Halloween whatever!" Miriallia said.

Dearka's eyes glittered. "Y-you will?" he asked again.

Miriallia nodded and due to absentminded-excitement, Dearka accidentally hugged the brown-haired girl. The class was all looking at the two of them and Miriallia was turning bright red.

"Ooh" the class cooed in chorus.

"D-Dearka… I am so gonna kill you if you don't let go…" Miriallia said, struggling to get Dearka to let go of her.

"Oopsie…" Dearka said when he let go and saw that even Mr. Newman was looking and laughing at the two of them.

Miriallia was fuming as Lacus gave her a reassuring smile.

Nicol and Natalie were not really arguing but their problem was they do not have a single idea that they can argue or agree about. Natalie's mind was still blank and all Nicol can think about is how happy he was that he did not flunk any of his subjects.

"Earth to Nicol!" Natalie said, knocking on his daydreaming head. "Are you there or in some other dimension?" she said loudly in his ear.

"Ow!" he said, covering his ear and inching a bit farther away from Natalie. "What did you do that for?" he whined.

"Well I was trying to get your attention for almost five minutes now!" she said, arms crossed in front of her. "What are you planning to do?" she asked him, hopeful that he somehow has something to suggest.

Nicol scratched his head and his eyes wandered around the class. All of them seemed to be absorbed in making plans for their project. Mr. Newman was jotting down on his record book and seemed to be busy. "How about… we make a telescope… the one that really works?" Nicol tried.

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Uh… you've been reading A Walk to Remember again, aren't you?" she said.

"Huh? You mean that one that was turned into a movie and acted upon by some naturals… the one that involved the girl making a telescope?" Nicol asked her.

Natalie nodded. "You watched the movie?" she asked with a mocking smile.

Nicol shrugged defensively. "No! I saw it along the park; advertisements about it were all around… I remembered it because some girl was talking about telescopes in there…" he explained.

"If I know better… you just want to watch it!" Natalie teased the green-haired coordinator.

Nicol's eyes grew big. "What are you talking about? Who would want to watch such?" Nicol retorted.

Natalie laughed teasingly. "You do! I think that's why you wanted to build a telescope!" she said and laughed again.

Nicol gave up and just insisted in making it. Natalie agreed since it seemed fun and easy to make but she still continued teasing Nicol with the movie and by reading the book.

Meanwhile, Athrun was busy trying to figure out a good project while Cagalli was singing like an idiot and complaining how hard it is to think of a good project.

"Cagalli!" Athrun said, slightly shaking her.

"I'm leaving on a jetplane!" she continued to sing while she changed the lyrics to something that will fit her complaints.

Athrun sighed. "CAGALLI!" he said. "Stop singing already! I found something!" he finished.

Cagalli instantly turned serious and peered closer to Athrun and looked at the science magazine he was reading. Athrun pointed to the photo of the project he was planning to build.

"A nanorobot?" Cagalli asked him while reading the short descriptions.

Athrun nodded and waited for her reaction. Cagalli then pinched Athrun's cheek. "Zala you're a genius!" she said.

Athrun massaged his red cheek when Cagalli stopped pinching him. "Oopsie… sorry Athrun!" she said and patted his shoulder apologetically.

Athrun smirked and pinched Cagalli's cheek too. "Ow!" Cagalli whined. "Why the heck did you do that?" she asked, outraged.

"That's what I call, equivalent trade!" Athrun said and smiled triumphantly.

Cagalli scowled. "At this moment, I want to feed you to a thousand hungry nanorobots!" she said, strangling Athrun (chibi style).

The afternoon went by and it was time for dismissal. The ten of them were once again flocked near the entrance, talking about their plans for the afternoon. They saw Fllay pass by with Yuuna Roma, the senior who wanted to court Cagalli.

"Hey… isn't that the guy who wanted to court you, Cagalli?" Lacus said when they passed by.

Cagalli wanted to puke. "Good thing he's with Fllay…" she said and they laughed.

"It's your fault if I can't help Lacus much… you broke my left wrist!" Kira said and tapped Cagalli's head with his textbook.

"But you're right handed!" Nicol said, obviously taking Cagalli's side.

"I think you wouldn't want a book stuck on your face, huh Nicol?" Kira said, preparing to throw the book at Nicol.

"Uh, can't we ask for a deadline extension?" Dearka said hopefully.

"Nope, nuh-uh… intramurals are approaching…" Kira said and shook his head in dismay.

"Look guys, we better get started or we'll never get it done." Natalie said, trying to let them realize what they have to do even if she, herself was too lazy to do the project.

"Fine…" Miriallia said, clinging on the strap of her bag. "C'mon Elthman, we've got work to do…" she said again, dragging Dearka. "See ya 'round guys!" she called out before going away.

"B-bye!" Dearka managed to say before they are out of sight.

"You can have Athrun at home; we'll work at Lacus' place." Kira told his twin before departing. "Oh and do you mind telling mom to leave my dinner at the microwave? I might go home late… and uhm, don't you get your hands on my steak and-" Kira was telling Cagalli until the blonde girl got irritated.

"YOU CAN GO AWAY NOW, KIRA!" she yelled angrily.

Lacus and Athrun looked at each other and laughed. "That's family love I guess…" Lacus said and giggled while Athrun tried to stop laughing.

After the four of them were gone and after much arguing, Yzak and Shiho finally decided to make the project at Yzak's place for this afternoon, since Ryojin will surely bug them to death.

"We're going ahead Nat, where will you be doing yours?" Shiho asked the other girl while Yzak talked to Nicol.

"Nicol's place, where else?" she said sarcastically and chuckled. Shiho looked worried. "Relax Shiho, I can handle myself!" Natalie guaranteed.

Yzak noticed that for this day, Nicol was back to his normal self, although he told them that Natalie did not react the way they expected when Nicol told her he loves her. Yzak just wanted to make sure that Nicol isn't fooling around by acting so happy.

"I don't know Yzak, but I'm sure I'm not playing stupid. I'm happy and sad in a way but what can I do, I gotta let it go!" Nicol said and shrugged.

"Just make sure or we'll strangle you." Yzak said coldly.

"Yeah, I know… and I'm okay with this, being friends with Nat sure is fun than adding up to her problems for now." Nicol said in a more serious manner.

"Good. See you Nicol." Yzak said and had a small smile before departing.

After they were gone, Natalie was happy to know that Nicol didn't take what happened the other day badly. She moved closer to him and hugged him briefly.

"Thank you Nicol, for understanding me." She said.

Nicol felt like he was petrified with the unexpected gesture. "Anytime" he said and Natalie let go of him and smiled.

"By the way, I'm pretty sure you know why we can't have this project at my house?" she asked.

Nicol chuckled. "I know, I know…" he said and the two of them raced each other out of the school.

"Last one's gonna pay for ice cream!" Nicol said, since Natalie's trailing a little behind.

"Dream on Amarfi!" she said, catching up with him across the main entrance of the school.

Meanwhile, Dearka begged Miriallia to make their project at her house since he doesn't want Diana fussing over the two of them making a project together. Miriallia agreed wholeheartedly since she gets embarrassed when Diana is around.

"Are you sure we've got everything we need?" Dearka asked Miriallia as he struggled with the heavy packages of materials.

Miriallia checked her list again. "Yup, if we're going to make a visual representation the solar system, then we got everything we need!" she said and smiled happily.

"Uh… a little help now, please?" Dearka said, wound up by the heavy materials.

"Oopsie daisies! Sorry 'bout that…" Miriallia said and helped him carry the load and hailed a cab.

After buying the materials, Kira and Lacus proceeded to the Clyne residence and started to make their project. They settled in the living room so that they can watch some t.v. while working. Lacus' mother was delighted to see Kira once again and she even bothered to bring them some snacks.

"Chocolate cake!" Kira said, almost diving at the slice.

Sadly though, the moment he was about to grab it, Lacus took it away and raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh no you don't! Not until you get started on the Paper Mache, you can't eat! Lazy boy…" she scolded Kira who wasn't even halfway through his job.

Kira stuck his tongue out at her. "You'll see I'm going to finish this right before you can say chocolate cake!" he said determinedly.

Lacus rolled her eyes and laughed at him while she switched the t.v. on. Suddenly, Kira stole the remote control from her. "I'll have this… and not until you're done making the base, you can't watch t.v.!" he said and laughed evilly.

"KIRA YAMATO!" the pink-haired girl said through gritted teeth.

Kira grinned triumphantly. "You did the same to me, didn't you?"

Meanwhile, Athrun and Cagalli were starting to make their nanorobot in their living room. Athrun was amazed on how good Cagalli was in sketching the blueprint for their project. She even indicated the perfect color combinations that included navy blue and gray with dabs of black and white.

"Are you sure the paint we got is enough for this project?" Athrun asked, trying to make sure.

Cagalli nodded. "Yup… you better start mixing the colors…" Cagalli instructed.

Athrun diverted his eyes to the side tables and saw picture frames. It was Cagalli and Kira when they were still young and a family portrait with their parents. Athrun then realized that he has never seen their father in person and never got the chance to ask neither of the twins about it.

"I'm quite sure you're thinking about my dad?" Cagalli inquired, seeing him staring at the picture.

"N-not really…" Athrun tried.

"It's okay Athrun… my dad is a nice man… at least that's what I know." Cagalli said. Clearly, even she doesn't really know her father that well.

As for Yzak and Shiho, Mrs. Jule was really delighted in having a visitor and even prepared snacks for the two of them. Shiho was deeply touched by the gesture but Yzak was highly irritated when his mother started to sit with them and tell Shiho about his habits and his favorites. All Shiho was able to do was sweatdrop and smile anxiously.

"Mother…" Yzak mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Oh dear! I must've gone overboard… I'll leave the two of you to work for a while…" Yzak's mother said and left the two of them to work in the wide living room.

"Your mom is cool." Shiho commented while doing the tubes for the veins.

Yzak snorted. "You think meddling with my life is cool?" he snapped.

Shiho frowned at him. "Why don't you try to see her intentions in a nice way?" she snapped back at him.

Yzak was taken aback. Clearly, there should be a reason why Shiho was a bit too sensitive when it comes to mother-offspring relationship. But he didn't want to meddle with things that aren't his concern so he left the topic for him to investigate.

"Yzak! You're painting the wrong side of the tube!" she said and took the tube away from him.

"What's so wrong with that? It looks better with the side that I painted!" Yzak said, putting up another argument.

Shiho grimaced. "Still, it's not what the plan indicates!" she said, not giving in without a good debate.

"Will you stop being so difficult?" Yzak snapped angrily.

"And you think you're not?" Shiho shot back at him.

A moment of silence followed and it lasted for nearly and hour of work. Both just followed the instructions indicated in paper mache and painting and refused to talk to each other.

"_Jerk! Apologize!" _Yzak thought to himself.

"_Shiho Hahnenfuss! You messed up again!"_ came Shiho's inner voice.

Still, no one yielded to be the first one to talk. After a few more minutes, Yzak can't take it anymore and he knew that being the guy that he is, he must be the first one to apologize despite his ego.

"Sorry." He said, looking at her eyes briefly from a distance and looking down again.

Shiho was surprised and was not really sure if what she heard was right. "W-what?" she asked.

Yzak's brows furrowed. "Don't make me say it again." he said sternly.

Shiho knew what she heard was right. "Sorry." She apologized on her behalf.

After another momentarily silence, the two of them started joking around and having fun while making the project.

Meanwhile, Dearka and Miriallia were having fun, putting glitters on each other's faces. It was Dearka who accidentally spilled glue and glitters on Miriallia's hand and she thought that he did it on purpose and did the same to him for the sake of the so-called equivalent trade. Soon enough, both of them had glitters on their faces, arms and hands but they just laughed it off.

"Why don't you dress up like a fairy for your Halloween extravaganza? The glitters look good on you!" Miriallia mocked him.

Dearka stuck his tongue out. "Is that a dare?" he said and laughed evilly.

"Yeah! I'll go if you do it!" Miriallia said while wiping her hands.

Dearka knew that it was such an unfair agreement. "No way! You're not tricking me into looking gay!" he protested.

Miriallia pouted. "Oh you will or I'll do your make-up personally!" she threatened until she finally blackmailed him.

"Whatever! But you should promise to dress up like a boy if I am to dress up like a girl!" Dearka shot back.

"Bring it on fairy princess!" Miriallia teased him.

"Whatever, knight in shining armor!" Dearka said.

The two of them laughed at their jokes and even to their project. So far, all they have done was the first three planets since joking around really brings slow progress to anyone who wishes to accomplish a pretty hard project.

As for Nicol and Natalie, they were pigging-out on ice cream while Natalie made Nicol watch the movie A Walk to Remember and teased him the whole time. Nicol just ignored her and pretended to enjoy the movie so that Natalie won't have to tease him so much.

"So, you wish to have a star named after you huh, Nicol?" Natalie said and laughed her heart out.

Nicol continued to wrap scotch tape around the edges while he stuck his tongue out at Natalie. "Not only a star, a planet!" he said, unnerving Natalie.

"I hate you Amarfi." She said.

"I hate you too Ishigami." He replied.

* * *

**yay! chapter done... please review! thanks... i'll be updating soon! ja ne!**


	18. secret message not!

**hello! how were your holidays? i just hope all of you enjoyed christmas! as i promised, chapter 18 will be up before new year! i'm keeping my firngers crossed that i didn't flunk this one... teehee! i'll try my best to upload chapter 19 before school starts again... **

**advance happy new year!**

**disclaimers: i do not own gundam seed or gundam seed destiny**

* * *

In making the project, most of them were able to go home late. Kira went home at exactly 11pm and had acrylic paint all over his hands. He went straight to his room without washing his painted hands and even bumped into Cagalli who was just going to show Athrun out but he was too sleepy to even greet the both of them.

"Uh… is he drunk?" Athrun asked, his eyes following Kira.

Cagalli giggled. "Nope… he's just sleepy!" she said and yawned.

Athrun chuckled. "So I guess you're sleepy too, huh? Is that what you call twin super powers?" he joked.

Cagalli scowled. "Shut it." Athrun just stayed quiet, desperately trying to restrain himself from saying any other mockery.

When they reached the gate, Cagalli stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily. Athrun chuckled and joked on how lazy Cagalli was. The blonde girl just fumed and pushed Athrun out of the gate.

"Goodbye Zala…" she grunted as she pushed him out.

Athrun just laughed to himself. "Goodnight Cagalli…" he said and waved goodbye while Cagalli nodded sleepily and waved as well.

While walking back home, he stumbled to Nicol who looked like he just came out of Natalie's house. His eyes were even closed while he was walking. Athrun eyed him curiously. When he stopped right in front of Nicol and he didn't even try to avoid him, Athrun was positive that Nicol is too sleepy to even watch where he's going.

"NICOL!" Athrun said and whacked the green-haired boy with his binder.

Nicol fell face-down on the ground and stood up, wide-awake, facing Athrun with flaming eyes. "Athrun!" he said angrily. "You could have just called me!" Nicol complained.

Athrun laughed out loud. "You're already sleepwalking!" he said and continued to laugh despite the death glare sent by Nicol.

Suddenly, Nicol remembered the hell he had to go through in watching that horrid movie. Natalie, whom he expected to shed tears while watching, criticized how stupid the boy was and how pointless the plot is. He told Athrun what happened and instead of what he expected, which is Athrun sharing the same sentiments of having a tiring day, the blue-haired boy continued to laugh and joked on how Nicol must have felt while watching.

"Did you cry?" Athrun asked mockingly.

Nicol was crestfallen. "Did Yzak just move in at your body? You're starting to get that attitude of his." Nicol said seriously.

Athrun chuckled. "Sorry… I just thought I'd lighten up! Unlike you, you're always serious." He pointed out.

Nicol snorted. "I am? Give me a break Athrun…" he contrasted.

Athrun shrugged. "Yeah… you seriously need to lighten up! I'm sure you'd kill me for this but if it's about Nat, you should learn how to give her some space…" Athrun said, speaking as quickly as possible so that if the words are blurry, the chances of Nicol kicking his butt will drop by 50 percent.

Instead of the expected reaction, Nicol just lowered his head down as the two of them continued to walk. Athrun kept quiet, hoping he knocked some sense into his friend. "You're right…" Nicol said and smiled. "I really should lighten up." He said and gripped the strap of his bag.

Athrun yawned. "Good thing you know…" he said groggily.

As for Yzak and Shiho, they worked harmoniously for the rest of the time and made a big progress in their project. They didn't realize that it was really late when they were just about done with the hard part. Yzak walked her out of the house, trying to keep his eyes open though it's obvious how sleepy he already was.

"I'll go ahead…" Shiho was saying and was about to wave goodbye when Yzak realized he can't let a girl walk around the streets at this late hour.

"Hey! No you're not…" he said, stopping her.

Shiho looked at him confused. "Huh?"

Yzak turned red. "I… mean… no! You can't go walking around at a time like this!" he said, sounding like a commanding officer.

Shiho raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh… I can do it alone! No one can be stupid enough to mess with me…" she said for certain.

Yzak saw his mother looking out of her bedroom window and he inched closer to Shiho. "My mother will kill me if I don't act like a gentleman!" Yzak whispered.

Shiho grimaced. "Selfish, arrogant fool!" she hissed.

"Just kidding!" Yzak said for a good cover up. "But… I really don't want you to go around walking alone." He said.

"So?" Shiho said, still not getting the idea.

Yzak rolled his eyes. "I'll give you a ride home." He said and rushed inside the house to get his bike. He got out and Shiho almost laughed for neither of them remembered she was still wearing her school uniform that included a skirt, but she didn't really mind, she was used in riding a bike even in her school uniform especially during the days she had to pick up her brother.

"Hop in." Yzak said reluctantly, trying to ignore the bike-and-skirt thing.

Shiho did as she was told and was turning red to think of the fact that she was going to hang on to Yzak's back just so she doesn't fall off. Instead of doing so, she figured out she'd rather hold on to his shoulder and to the balancing support of the bicycle's rear.

When she touched his shoulder, Yzak felt a sudden chilling run down his spine and he couldn't even start to pedal. Then he remembered how late it is getting and so, he pedaled in normal speed.

"Cold…" Shiho mumbled.

Yzak grunted. "Then why didn't you bring a jacket, huh?" he said sarcastically and smiled to himself.

Shiho scowled. "It was hot during the day… doodlebrain…" she said, stressing the last word she said.

Apparently and lucky for her, Yzak didn't hear the last word she said and it just indicated safety from any more outbursts.

Meanwhile, Dearka was just about to go out of Miriallia's house when she stopped him. Dearka was already expecting some beating up but instead, Miriallia handed him a small box tied with a ribbon.

"What's this?" he asked as he looked at the box in his hand curiously.

Miriallia smiled. "Open it later." She said. "Oh and by the way… I had fun working with you Dearka… we should hang out more often." She said, her cheeks turning red with every word.

Dearka's cheeks were already flushed. It seems like his esophagus was locked and he could hardly breathe. His hands were trembling and he wanted to slap himself for acting like a freak. "Uh… y-yeah… I had fun too…" he managed to say despite the nervousness he's feeling.

After saying their goodbyes, Dearka went on his way and Miriallia walked in the house. Miriallia shut the door closed and heaved a sigh of relief. She rushed to the phone and called up Lacus. A groggy but sweet voice answered the other line and Miriallia almost shrieked.

"Lacus! Lacus I did it!" she said excitedly.

It didn't take Lacus long to realize who's talking at the other line. It was a very giddy and happy Miriallia. "Oh… hi Mir… you did what?" she asked while trying to get rid of the sleepiness.

"Well, I figured out that if he's so timid maybe I'll make the first subtle moves and I gave him a box of chocolates I made just for him!" Miriallia said, wasting no time in telling her friend what she gave him and what happened during their afternoon.

This time, Lacus was wide-awake. "Really? Oh my gosh! But it's not even Valentines Day for you to make chocolates… but I'm sure he'll finish it in a flash!" Lacus said and giggled.

"You think he'll finally get a clue?" Miriallia asked Lacus.

"I sure do hope so… if he can't get a clue then I should say he's being stupid." Lacus said and laughed.

"You're right…" Miriallia said and sighed. "Oh well… bye now Lacus… we've got school tomorrow…" she said and they both hung up after a couple more of goodbyes and reminders.

As for Dearka, he was walking along the sidewalk and turned around when he realized a vehicle is passing. It went slower when the driver apparently recognized Dearka. It was Yzak on a bike.

"Dearka?" he said, trying to confirm if it's really Dearka.

"Yzak!" he said. "I didn't expect seeing you here…" then his eyes traveled and stopped fixed on the already sleeping girl behind Yzak who was currently leaning on his back. "And I didn't expect seeing her sleeping." Dearka finished.

"Imagine if I did let her walk out on her own… she could've fallen asleep on the sidewalk!" Yzak joked and the two of them laughed while Dearka brisk-walked to keep up with the bike.

"Is her house still far?" the tan boy asked.

"Not quite…" the silver-haired boy answered and realized that his friend was holding a box. "Ooh… what do you have there, Elthman?" he asked after glancing at the box Dearka is holding.

Dearka flushed. "Well…" he started and figured out there could be no harm in telling Yzak. "It's from Milly…" he said.

Yzak carefully pedaled on the curving road so that Shiho won't wake, cursing that he offered to even give her a ride. Dearka laughed at him regretting what he did and waited for his reply. "Dearka… when will you see the other side of the horizon?" he asked him mockingly.

Dearka scowled. "What horizon are you talking about?" he asked.

Yzak rolled his eyes. "Get a clue." He said sternly. "Stupid." He added.

"Look, I don't understand what you're talking about." Dearka said.

"Open it." Yzak instructed Dearka.

Dearka eyed him suspiciously. "If I know better Yzak, you just want to know what's inside!" he said and stifled an evil laugh.

"Pea brain… I'm trying to help you here!" he said quite loudly causing the sleeping Shiho to move a bit.

Dearka was quick enough to hold Shiho's back just so she doesn't fall in case Yzak becomes too stupid and bawls all the way. "Stupid… she might fall…" Dearka said.

"Just open it…" Yzak hissed.

Dearka did and when he saw the contents of the box, what Yzak said by 'get a clue' made perfect sense. Yzak took a quick glance at the contents of the box. "I'm a genius." He said for he already had ideas of what that box could have had inside it.

Suddenly, Yzak stopped in front of a big house. "It's her place." he told Dearka and while he disembarked from the bike, Dearka ruffled Shiho's hair. "Wake up girl…" he said and was tying the ribbon back to the box when he forgot that Shiho was still sitting on the bike.

Good thing Yzak was a coordinator, he was fast enough to catch her before she falls down. The sleepiness wore off from Shiho when her eyes met his. Dearka, actually did the falling thing on purpose just so he could repay Yzak from telling him about getting a clue.

"Ahem" he coughed, seeing that the two of them could barely move.

Shiho stood upright and Yzak buried his hands in his two pockets. "Oh… hi Dearka." Shiho greeted him.

"Hello!" the tan boy greeted back. "You better go inside and sleep again." he said, looking at Yzak, hoping that he'd even say something more like goodnight.

"Right…" Shiho said. "Goodnight, Dearka… Yzak." She said, looking at Yzak after Dearka nodded and nudged Yzak.

"U-uh… yeah… goodnight." He said, looking down at the ground.

Dearka cannot fight the urge to whack him and so he did. Yzak didn't react violently except for the scowl he sent Dearka. "Goodnight Shiho." He said, now, looking at her.

Shiho blushed slightly and nodded. "Thanks for the ride." She said before running through the wide front lawn and going inside the house.

Now it was Dearka's turn to scowl at Yzak. "So you told me to get a clue when you can't even get yours." Dearka said.

Yzak shrugged. "I don't have any clues to get." He replied.

"If I'm numb or stupid to see that Miriallia is open for me to make moves then you should see that Shiho likes you." Dearka said, determined to make Yzak realize that he could end up losing Shiho.

"You're sounding like your sister." Yzak said, recalling previous meetings with Diana.

Dearka took it as something acceptable rather than offensive. "Whatever…" he said and started to focus on thinking about what he should do rather than what Yzak was too stupid to ignore.

Yzak yawned and stretched. "I'm going back Dearka… bye." He said and rode his back and went the opposite direction.

Dearka went home with a big smile on his face. Diana opened the door for him because she was still up watching late-night movies. She noticed that despite the sleepiness, her brother was happy and even gave her a big hug and bid her goodnight.

"Love drives people crazy…" she said, looking at Dearka as he climbs up the stairs to his room. She took a handful of popcorn and said, "Good thing I'm not in love…" then ate the popcorn and went back to the family room to resume her movie marathon.

Dearka lay on his bed and promised himself that he will make a move. Before finally sleeping, he pigged-out and ate the chocolates all by himself and didn't even bother to brush his teeth afterwards.

* * *

The next morning, almost all the students in their class were sleepy and Mr. La Flaga cannot help but scold them for staying up late. Cagalli, being the class president explained that they had a project to finish and that it will happen no more.

"I'm counting on that…" Mr. La Flaga said all-fatherly. "I don't want you kids lacking energy… especially when you've got recognition practice later in the afternoon!" he said and smiled.

Kira, who was still knocked-out, hit himself with a book. "Now I wish I was not an honor student…" he mumbled and Lacus comforted him and patted his shoulder. "It's okay Kira… we'll all get over this." she said consolingly.

"I wanna go on SEED-mode!" Kira said, his eyes twinkling excitedly.

Lacus was taken aback. "No you won't!" she said. "You can blow this whole place up!" she added.

"What are evacuation centers for?" he said sarcastically and laughed like a madman.

Lacus rolled her eyes and arrived at a conclusion. "That's it Kira… you're insane." She said, dismissing the topic.

Yzak was obviously not listening and not even awake. He was sleeping soundly when suddenly; he snored, astonishing Shiho and the rest who heard. Mr. La Flaga laughed and the others followed.

"Now that's one tired fellow…" Mr. La Flaga said and laughed again.

Shiho just looked down on him and laughed to herself and brought out her cellphone and switched it to video mode and documented the whole "Yzak Snores" video. Mr. La Flaga found it too funny to even stop Shiho from having a major blackmail weapon against Yzak.

"Yzak will regret he ever seated beside Shiho…" Athrun said to Cagalli.

Cagalli just shrugged and laughed. "Oh I'm sure he won't care much… that is… if he would know." She said and the two of them laughed.

"Hey, look at Dearka…" Athrun told Cagalli and the two seatmates fixed their eyes on the Dearka and Miriallia.

They looked as if they were seriously talking about something and Cagalli was fidgeting uneasily. "I want to know what they're talking about!" she said excitedly.

Athrun shrugged. "It's their business! I'm sure we'll know afterwards…" the blue-haired boy said.

Cagalli sighed dreamily. "I'm finally going to see a boyfriend-girlfriend for real!" she said and smiled.

Athrun sweatdropped and raised and eyebrow. "You mean… you have never seen a boyfriend and a girlfriend like… you know… like it's something casual?" he asked.

Cagalli nodded. "That's right. Actually, I'm kinda naïve in that subject since I only see stuff like that in movies." She explained.

"Oh… I see… me too." Athrun admitted and smiled.

As for Dearka and Miriallia, Cagalli's guess was quite close. Dearka asked Miriallia if he can talk to her in private, just the two of them. He said he wanted to tell her something and that she shouldn't tell anybody about it just yet.

Miriallia's heart skipped a beat. "Oh…" she felt her cheeks burn. "Sure thing…" she said finally, trying to control her breathing.

Dearka was trembling in nervousness for he had never talked like this to any girl before and he was afraid that jumping in a relationship might scare Miriallia away so he has to take things slowly. "Thanks… I'll tell you later, during recognition practice… if that's okay." He said.

Miriallia nodded softly, feeling happy and giddy, as if her birthday had come early. "That's okay!" she replied cheerily.

Meanwhile, Nicol was trying to squeeze a quick nap while everybody was fussing over Yzak snoring and sleeping. The moment he was about to close his eyes, Natalie already had a wicked grin on her face and had one hand dipped in her pocket, obviously preparing to do the same documenting Shiho was doing to Yzak.

Nicol quickly got up again and rubbed the sleep off his eyes. "Oh no you don't… you can't trick me into that." He said, warning Natalie.

Natalie grunted. "Kill joy…" she mumbled.

Nicol stretched his arms and yawned. "I heard that." He said and chuckled.

Natalie turned around and saw Mia, almost going to cry since Momotani was resting his big fat sleeping head on her shoulder and it looked like that really hurt since compared to Momotani's weight, Mia sure can be pan-caked. Seeing it, Mr. La Flaga instructed to Shiho to document that scene, ignoring Mia's pleas to stop them.

"Awww… poor Mia…" Natalie said and giggled.

"Hey, they look cute!" Nicol said and laughed.

"You wouldn't say that if you were in her shoes…" Natalie said, seeing Mia was already tearing that Momotani was really a sumo-wrestler compared to her.

After Mr. La Flaga's class, the morning progressed fast and before they knew it, the bell rang indicating lunch time. They all went to the cafeteria in their usual groups of friends. Dearka was still fumbling about his Halloween thingy while all the others just went on with their businesses. Yzak was falling asleep while chewing his food. Athrun and Nicol were talking about some things while Kira was trying to regain his concentration in things.

Auel and Shinn passed by and said they were cool with the Halloween thingy Dearka is proposing. Stellar, Lunamaria and Meyrin are also coming. Dearka's mood instantly switched from persuasive to triumphant.

"See? They like my idea! And uhm, guys? Don't forget your costumes!" he bragged to his friends who weren't really listening and called out to Auel and Shinn.

Kira rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright… I'm in… It's better to join in than to be the only one without Halloween treats!" he said and Dearka was even more delighted.

Athrun and Nicol exchanged looks of uncertainty but gave in when Yzak subconsciously muttered, "I want candy…" in his dreams.

"See? He wants candy!" Dearka reasoned out.

"Whatever." Athrun glumly said.

Nicol just sulked. "Oh man…"

Meanwhile, the girls are having a different discussion. They were talking about Fllay and Yuuna since the two have been said to be dating or rather, flinging.

"Look at them! They're… uh… gross." Shiho said, looking disgusted at the sight of Fllay and Yuuna being too close as if any minute something can happen.

"And I thought she had her eyes on my brother…" Cagalli said.

"Hey look… isn't that Sai Argyle?" Lacus pointed at a blond guy from a nearby table.

"Oh… from Ms. Ramius' class I presume?" Natalie said, trying to get a clearer view of the eating guy.

Lacus nodded. "I heard he'd been crushing on Fllay ever since… some even say Fllay is just trying on how far Sai would go that's why she's flinging with Yuuna…" the pink-haired girl shared.

Miriallia nearly choked with a carrot. "Huh? And she thinks she's all that? Give me a break!" the brunette said disapprovingly.

"How come you know all these things, huh Lacus?" Cagalli asked suspiciously.

"Oh let me finish first! And you know, she thinks she would better be off using Sai in trying to seduce Kira… you know… she thinks she could make you brother jealous, Cagalli!" Lacus continued.

Shiho's eyes bulged. "Damn that bitch…" she cursed.

"Trying hard social climber!" Natalie added angrily.

"What is she thinking by that? Urgh! I would love to be the first one to strangle Fllay Allster!" Miriallia said, her temper rising.

Cagalli shot Fllay deadly glares and wished that Fllay would vanish in a pop with that fruitcake-haired Yuuna. After some more cursing, Cagalli asked Lacus the same question she asked her a while ago.

"Well… Mia told me. We've been talking some time… it was Fllay's master plan to ruin me…" Lacus said while eating her mashed potato.

"Really now…" Natalie said, trying to analyze the case.

"Then we better stop that slut before she gets poor Sai!" Miriallia said.

After much ado, lunch was over and in the afternoon, all honor students went to the gym for recognition practice. Many familiar faces from the junior batch were there. Auel, Meyrin, Lunamaria, Shinn, Stellar, surprisingly Sting, Rey, Sai and many others. The girls were wishing hard to never see a trace of Fllay in the gym and they were correct. Based on the gossip, the amazing-slash-just kidding Fllay Allster didn't make it to the honor roll.

"I'm smarter than Fllay!" Dearka bragged proudly.

Everybody rolled their eyes at Dearka. "Uh… duh? You're a coordinator!" Yzak said, now wide-awake.

Dearka caught Miriallia's eye in the middle of the laughing marathon about Fllay and she just smiled a bit and looked slowly away. Dearka took it as a hint that she's really willing to talk about the two of them.

After a couple more Fllay jokes, they were called to the stage for their practice to be led by Ms. Ramius. Cagalli and the others thought of another crazy idea of trying to get Ms. Ramius and Mr. La Flaga together but decided that it should wait till later.

"Oh my gosh! Mr. La Flaga's really looking at Ms. Ramius!" Shiho said, tapping Cagalli's shoulder and pointed at the very back of the gym where Mr. La Flaga stood staring at Ms. Ramius up the stage.

Cagalli giggled. "He's really crazy about her…" Cagalli said and the two of them laughed.

They left the topic for a while in order to concentrate on the practice. Ms. Badgiruel just ordered Sting to do fifty push ups since he kept on missing his line in the march. Dearka nearly had it because of his excitement in inviting everybody for the Halloween stuff that really bugged Yzak and Athrun who were standing in front of him.

"I swear I'll kill Dearka if he doesn't shut his mouth up…" Yzak hissed from behind Athrun.

Athrun shrugged. "He's just happy… I think…" he said, not wanting to admit to share the same sentiments as Yzak for the issue will go for longer.

The practice took half of their project-finishing afternoon and good thing Mr. Newman was kind enough to accept late projects, only for a minus one on the raw score that most of them thought was a good thing but for some serious students, a minus is never a good thing.

"Kira, we should never, ever get a minus!" Lacus said, shaking Kira like an idiot.

"Whatever you say…" Kira replied dizzily.

"Whew! Good thing our brain is functioning well!" Shiho said. "Right Yzak?"

Yzak smirked. "My brain is functioning well… I don't know about yours!" he kidded.

Shiho flared up and whacked Yzak hard on the head. "Stupid! I'm talking about our friggin' project!" she yelled.

Nicol was laughing to himself and Yzak heard it and so, he also got a hard whack on the head. "Hey! What's the big idea?" Nicol complained.

Yzak glared. "Serves you right for laughing at me." He hissed under his breath.

Nicol then turned to Natalie. Instantly, she stopped laughing. "I'm not laughing." She said defensively.

"Ahw darn… this is what I hate about school… I hate cramming…" Cagalli whined.

"I told you we should have started days ago…" Athrun muttered.

Cagalli scowled. "Saying something, Zala?" she asked him.

Athrun shrugged. "I said we have a couple more days to go!" he said and smiled nervously.

"Hey wait a sec… guys, where're Milly and Dearka?" Shiho asked, looking around.

Lacus spotted the two, talking outside the gym. "There they are…" she said.

"I wonder what they're up to…" Natalie said, striding towards them.

Good thing Cagalli and Shiho were fast to stop her. "Stupid! You'll ruin the moment!" Cagalli said.

Natalie pouted. "Fine…"

"Guys, we better go home and finish our projects and leave the two lovebirds to discuss matters on their own…" Kira said, tapping the heads of the four cooing girls.

Lacus frowned but knew that Kira was right and it would be better if Dearka and Miriallia handle whatever it is that's happening by themselves. Cagalli cursed Kira for being such a killjoy. Natalie reluctantly obliged and hated it when Nicol did a reenactment of how she looked like, being all lovestruck at the sight of Dearka and Milly. Yzak didn't even try to annoy Shiho or their project will never get done in time.

They all left the gym and separated in their usual project pairs, leaving Dearka and Miriallia behind. When the two stopped talking and went back inside the gym, they found out that it was already empty except for the two janitors who were cleaning the place up.

"They left…" Miriallia said, seeing that there's no trace of their friends.

The two of them walked out of the school side by side when suddenly, Dearka was getting all nervous inside. He was hoping Miriallia won't notice it and she didn't. She was busy telling him about their project when suddenly, Dearka couldn't hold it inside anymore.

Miriallia stopped dead on her tracks. She looked slowly downward and saw that her hand was clasped in Dearka's and the tan boy was pretending to be innocent by looking up at the sky. Miriallia couldn't explain how she was feeling. Yeah, it isn't the first time a guy held her hand but it was definitely the first time it was held in this particular way. She looked up at Dearka and smiled.

"Do you mind?" Dearka asked nervously.

Miriallia giggled as they started walking again. "Not at all."

The two of them walked to Miriallia's place, hand-in-hand. Then on, Miriallia knew she really was feeling different about Dearka, but in a good way. But there's something inside her that's telling her she must do something first before jumping into something she may not be able to control.

Meanwhile, the girls were on the phone, activating the four-way calling function. Athrun found it funny that Cagalli was able to glue the parts of their project while blabbering about Dearka being slow. Nicol on the other hand let Natalie use their phone since he himself doesn't use it much and listened intently to their blabberings. Kira begged Lacus to put it on speaker-phone so that he won't miss-out on the stuff about the two. Yzak however, didn't allow Shiho to use their phone without paying up but was caught up by the puppy-dog eyes.

_On the phone…_

"I knew it… they're in love!" Natalie concluded.

"Aren't we too young for that?" Shiho said, pretending to be the I-follow-my-mom's-rules type of girl.

Cagalli laughed. "We're not that young… and Miriallia's smart enough to know what she wants." The blond girl said.

"You're right… and whatever happens, we'll just support the two of them!" Lacus said excitedly.

Suddenly, Kira butted-in. "Wait a minute… what do you girls know that I don't?" he asked.

"KIRA YOU'D GET OFF THE DAMN PHONE RIGHT NOW OR I'LL BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF!" Cagalli yelled while Athrun was thunderstruck.

Lacus was laughing on the other line. "He's gone Cagalli…" she told her.

Natalie and Shiho could be heard laughing their heads off. Suddenly, a cellphone message alert went off.

"It's mine!" Shiho said.

After a few moments of reading, Shiho screamed. The girls and even Yzak were desperate to know why the heck she screamed like that. All the phones are now switched to speaker-phone mode so that all eight of them could be able to hear each other.

"What is it?" Lacus asked.

"Guys… we have major party-business to do…" was all Shiho managed to say.

"Huh?" all the others replied.

"That's it Hahnenfuss, you're done for!" Yzak said and snatched Shiho's cellphone to read the message himself.

"WHAT IS IT JULE?" Kira bellowed.

Yzak gulped while Shiho laughed. "Shiho's right you guys…"

* * *

**so... is it nice or definitely flunked? i hope it's nice! i'm keeping my fingers crossed! watch out for chapter 19 to know what the message was! please review! thanks... ja!**

**happy holidays...!**


	19. now you know!

**hello! how's the new year going? it took mea while to finish this since i had to get more ideas... this chapter will be a little shorter than my usualchapters since this will just be covering revelations and clues for the next chapters... so here it is! chapter nineteen, enjoy! **

* * *

The next morning, most students brought their projects to school for early submissions. Shiho and Yzak wasted no time the other night to tell the others about the accidentally-sent message. Each of them had different opinions about what the message could mean and only agreed on one thing which was throwing a party all because of that message. In school, they did not discuss the matter altogether so that they would not attract attention. 

Shiho switched seats with Athrun so that she can talk to Cagalli. Cagalli sighed. "You think surprising them won't appear to be meddling?" the blond asked worriedly.

"Well… I don't really know… we don't mean any harm do we?" Shiho replied uncertainly.

"The message was sent to you by accident… you think… they really are… you know…" Cagalli said, suddenly, her face was lighting up with excitement.

A sly smile crept upon Shiho's lips. "Finally he made a move…"

As the two girls giggled and talked, Athrun and Yzak rolled their eyes impatiently and irritably until the silver-haired boy cannot take it anymore.

"I don't get why girls love to talk about one another's love life." Yzak said crossly.

"Who does?" Athrun answered and shrugged.

"But… really… I can't believe he has hit it off so fast…" Yzak said, glancing at Dearka. "What kind of magic did he use on her?" he said sarcastically.

Athrun laughed. "Everyone knows Dearka's cockiness can transform into charms…" he said, remembering some fan girls-slash-neighbors-slash-playschool classmates of Dearka's way back in their younger years.

Yzak laughed too. "But Miriallia's not like them. She's different… but in a nice way."

"A lot nicer than those girls…" Athrun remarked, since all of them had grown to be friends since the school year started.

Meanwhile, Lacus traded seats with Nicol and talked to Natalie about the same thing Cagalli and Shiho were talking about. They buzzed excitedly while Nicol and Kira try to lay off the topic for a while since they are only an isle away from where Dearka and Miriallia were sitting.

"It's so romantic!" Lacus said dreamily.

"They are absolutely right for each other…" Natalie added.

"We better start planning about the party." Lacus said with determination.

Natalie thought for a while. "But the real meaning of the message hasn't been encoded yet! How do we throw a party if we still don't know what it means?" Natalie asked.

Lacus fell silent. "Right… I forgot about that…" the pink-haired girl said as Natalie smiled triumphantly.

"So then how will we know the meaning?" she asked Natalie.

This time, Natalie was out of words and Lacus stuck her tongue out with success. "And I thought you were a genius…" she ridiculed Natalie.

"Well… we're not the only ones who should be planning this at the first place!" Natalie stammered and giggled.

Nicol and Kira stared helplessly at them, wishing they could discuss something that will not lead to the Dearka-Miriallia situation for they are just sitting across them.

The morning went on just like that and recognition day is coming, good thing they are already done with their projects. Mr. La Flaga had announced earlier that morning that their recognitions will be the next day, Friday. It will only be for the morning and in the afternoon; they can have the rest of it off since the teachers will be having a meeting about the coming intramurals.

During lunch break, Miriallia joined the girls who acted clueless about her and Dearka. It was like any casual break they share, discussing about the Fllay and Yuuna issue and pitying Mia because of Momotani. Lacus wanted so badly to ask Miriallia about her and Dearka but thought that it wouldn't be such a good idea since it would be meddling with their personal business. Cagalli liked to try but Natalie and Shiho quickly changed the topic so that it wouldn't lead to boys and love lives.

"We better leave the situation as it is… it's more thrilling!" Shiho whispered to Cagalli when Miriallia was talking with Lacus.

"But I'm dying with suspense!" Cagalli tried but Shiho's eyes dangerously turned to slits and Cagalli knew she had to shut up.

The two of them turned their attention in joining the conversation with Natalie, Lacus and Miriallia. "So, where will we go this afternoon?" Natalie suddenly asked.

"How about a sleepover?" Shiho suddenly suggested, having a hidden agenda in mind.

The other three got it except for Miriallia. They all agreed about it and decided to hold it at Lacus' place and started calling their parents. They noticed that Miriallia was in a really good mood since that morning and they can't help but notice the effects of being in love for the first time.

After lunch, they parted and Miriallia bid Dearka goodbye, both apparently having the same good mood. As they watched Dearka and Miriallia say their goodbyes, they noticed that they somehow looked at each other differently. They all pretended not to notice and no one said a word.

"So what should we do now?" Kira asked and sprinted in the light caused by the shining noontime sun.

Yzak shrugged. He obviously wasn't going to give any ideas. Nicol moved into thinking and so did a very bored Athrun. However, Dearka's mind seemed to be fleeing somewhere else. Kira just watched the reactions shown by his friends.

"If they're having a sleepover… why not we have our own too?" Nicol suggested.

Yzak glared. "That's a gay idea…" he snapped irritably.

Nicol looked at him. Kira and Athrun quickly got what Nicol wanted. He wanted to let Dearka spill about him and Miriallia that's why he's suggesting a sleepover. Still, Yzak remained stubborn.

"I'm not going to such a gay gathering." He declared, starting to walk away.

"You'll be left behind with the details…" Kira said as Nicol and Athrun snickered.

Suddenly, Yzak stopped walking and turned around. "On second thought… eating free dinner isn't so bad!" he said.

The three looked at each other. "Who told you it'll be held in someone else's house?" Athrun asked him.

Yzak was crestfallen. "I changed my mind!" he said.

"Aw come on Yzak! Your mom cooks the best meatloaf ever!" Nicol said, thinking about having scrumptious food by dinner time.

Yzak scowled. "SLEEPING OVER IS SOMETHING VERY GAY TO DO AND YOU WANT TO HOLD IT IN MY HOUSE?" he yelled and Kira, who was standing right in front of him, covered his ears for protection.

They turned to look at Dearka and he was just sitting at the stairs, thinking to himself. "Is that depression?" Yzak asked.

"It's love… dimwit…" Athrun snapped at him.

Yzak looked like he was going to puke. "You guys are turning gay." He concluded and backed a few steps away.

"And you're over-reacting." Athrun said crossly.

Yzak scowled. "There's no way you're having it at my place." he said for certain.

"Blackmail…" Nicol whispered to Kira.

After a moment of silence, Kira had the perfect idea. He remembered the video Shiho had of Yzak snoring. "Yzak… tell me… do you snore?" he suddenly asked.

Yzak's cheeks flushed bright red. "N-no I don't!" he said defensively.

Athrun, Nicol and Kira laughed like hyenas. "Oh yes you do! You slept in class and you snored like a horse!" Nicol said and laughed out loud.

Yzak turned red even more. "Fine." He finally agreed as the three boys cheered with success. "J-just… don't tell anyone." He mumbled in a low voice.

The three guys laughed ominously and whispered to themselves. "Oh nobody knows…" Nicol said, restraining his laughter.

"Just the whole class!" Athrun whispered and they laughed.

Yzak turned around. "What was that?" he asked.

The three boys just shrugged. "Nothing… nothing… nothing…" Kira said and picked up his bag.

They were preparing to go when they remembered Dearka. "Dearka! You coming?" Kira asked him.

"Huh? Oh… yeah…" he said and followed his friends.

Meanwhile, inside the school, the teachers were having a meeting at the faculty room. Ms. Gladys and Ms. Badgiruel along Mr. Newman sat beside each other. Ms. Ramius and Mr. La Flaga and Mr. Kleuze sat at the other side or the table as they waited for Mr. Dullindal to speak.

"As you all know, I chose you to coach the training of the different sports teams to have them ready for the coming intramurals." He began as the rest listened intently.

"Mr. La Flaga, I want you to coach the basketball of the Juniors and the Freshmen. Mr. Le Kleuze, you coach Seniors and Sophomores. Am I understood?" Mr. Dullindal said.

"Yes sir"

"Mr. Newman and Ms. Ramius, both of you will handle the badminton matches and trainings." He instructed further.

"Yes sir"

"Ms. Gladys, you coach the swimming teams… since most boys are in basketball, all of the contestants are girls in the four year leverls." He said again. "And Ms. Badgiruel, the soccer team goes to you… all girls too." He finished.

"Yes sir"

"You'll start training the week after recognition. Do I make myself clear?" he said with a hint of boredom.

"Yes sir"

With yet another nod, he left the teachers to discuss the schedule to themselves. Ms. Badgiruel walked over to the coffee maker to pour herself some freshly brewed coffee. Mr. Le Kleuze and Mr. Newman were already packing their things and preparing to go home and bid their colleagues goodbye before walking out. Ms. Gladys was watching Ms. Ramius and Mr. La Flaga talk about the coming intramurals and how proud Mr. La Flaga is with his students.

Ms. Badgiruel and Ms. Gladys caught one another's eyes and watched the other two teachers talk with enjoyment. Ms. Gladys giggled and Ms. Badgiruel did too and signaled for the other woman to pack her stuff and prepare to go so that the other two teachers will be left alone.

"We're going Murrue… Mwu…" Talia Gladys said.

"Oh… take care!" Murrue Ramius bid the two of them.

"Mwu La Flaga you'd better take care of Murrue or you'll be sorry." Natarle Badgiruel warned.

Talia giggled. _"Are we going back in time to our high school days?"_ she thought and Natarle nudged her slightly for her to stop.

Mwu raised an eyebrow and pretended not to get what Natarle meant. "What must that supposed to mean?" the blond man asked.

"Nothing… not unless… you want to give it a meaning…" Natarle said.

Murrue was confused that Talia just kept laughing. Murrue recalled their high school days and it went just like this but she chose to ignore it, thinking that Natarle and Talia just wanted some amusement and joke-time.

Meanwhile, the girls gathered at Lacus' place after dropping by at each other's houses to get clothes. Natalie even had to sneak out at the back door and have Rosie throw her bag out of the window. Good thing the black sedan Natalie's father owned just drove out of the driveway by the time they were heading out.

They talked about how good they are in sneaking while they hang-out by the garden in Lacus' house. Cagalli was teasing Lacus non-stop about Kira and she even called the pink-haired girl, 'sister'. Shiho just laughed and added to whatever Cagalli said about Lacus and Kira. Natalie and Miriallia were like kids playing at the fountain, running around and chasing each other. Later on, Cagalli joined in and so did Lacus and Shiho.

As Miriallia chased Natalie, the latter stopped for a while and started laughing. "This scene seemed familiar…" Natalie said.

Miriallia quickly understood what she meant. This was the same garden where she and Dearka caught Natalie and Nicol spying on them during Lacus' birthday party. After taking in the situation, she ran after Natalie again. "You are so gonna get it!" he warned.

The other three stopped playing around and sat at the fountain. "So… when will we have the pep-talk?" Cagalli asked the other two.

"Later… before we go to sleep… it's just three in the afternoon!" Shiho said and checked her wristwatch.

"Oh this is so romantic!" Lacus said dreamily.

"It will be when we eat some cake… c'mon, I'm hungry…" Cagalli said, pulling Lacus and Shiho by the hands. "Oh and sis, make it double chocolate!" Cagalli teased Lacus and Shiho laughed hard.

Lacus turned bright pink and shot back at Cagalli. "Oh is this destiny, Athrun loves chocolate cake… and so do you!" she said.

Cagalli fell silent. "I don't care what Zala likes…" she said defensively.

"Oh yes you do! You even wanted to know what…" Shiho started blurting out as Lacus awaited the continuation but she was cut off by the deathly glare Cagalli sent her.

"You would stop blabbering unless you want me to take it out on you…" Cagalli warned and Shiho gulped. "MRS. JULE!" she teased and Lacus laughed out loud.

Although she was blushing, Shiho composed herself. "Oh let's just go and eat…" she said, dismissing the topic as her two friends chanted Mrs. Jule over and over again.

Momentarily, Natalie and Miriallia followed, still teasing each other. They ate at the family room, watching DVDs. Cagalli wanted something funny but the rest wanted something romantic. They ended up watching a mushy movie about teenage love and the works.

In the middle of the movie, a phone beeped indicating a message that has been received. The girls checked their phone and apparently, it was Miriallia's phone that got a message. She was hesitant to check it knowing that her friends would want to know but surprisingly, they didn't really invade her privacy except for a single joke.

"Go ahead and check your phone… it might be Dearka…" Natalie said and resumed throwing popcorn with Shiho.

Cagalli and Lacus pretended to be absorbed in a conversation that they would barely notice what is happening and so, Miriallia opened the message. Suddenly, she felt her blood rush to her face and absentmindedly said, "Aww… this has got to be the sweetest thing…" she said.

The girls took it as a signal to finally ask. "Sweet eh?" Cagalli said with a curious look.

Miriallia giggled and surprisingly, she handed the phone to Cagalli for her to read the message. Natalie and Shiho, who were sitting at the couch, bent down at poked their heads near Lacus and Cagalli down at the floor to read the message.

_Hey! Watchadoin'? I miss you already…_

The message was from Dearka and just like any other teenagers, the girls shrieked excitedly. "Omigosh!" Lacus yelled.

"About time!" Shiho said and jumped up and down with Natalie.

When they stopped, they crowded around Miriallia with curious faces. "Care to tell us something Miriallia dear?" Cagalli asked.

Miriallia giggled and told them the story. "Well… he walked me home right… at first he held my hand… and…" she was trailing off.

"Holding hands!" Shiho shrieked.

"And then what happened?" Lacus asked eagerly.

"And when we were doing our project…" Miriallia continued.

**-FLASHBACK-**

_Miriallia's house the other day, doing the project with Dearka_

"So uhm… are you mad at me?" Dearka asked suddenly.

Miriallia nearly missed the paper and almost cut her finger. "Huh? Why should I be?" she said and smiled.

"Look… I know I've been stupid and I failed to look out for the obvious clues you show… I do hope you'd forgive me." Dearka started to explain.

Miriallia just listened as he continued. "Milly… I'm sure you know how much I like you and I'm not denying that…" he said.

Miriallia turned red and stopped cutting shapes from the paper she's holding. Dearka continued. "I'm not asking for anything in return… I just want you to know…" he was about to say but Miriallia cut him off.

"Are you numb or just plain stupid?" Miriallia said, pretending to be mad. Dearka's eyes widened. "Huh?" he uttered.

Miriallia placed the pair of scissors on the floor. Suddenly, she smiled. "You don't have to ask for it, I like you just the same." She said.

It was Dearka's turn to blush bright red. A momentary silence covered the atmosphere until Dearka had the guts to break the ice. "So I guess you better consider me as your suitor now…" he said with a chuckle.

Miriallia laughed. "If that's what you desire…" she replied.

**-END OF FLASHBACK-**

Shrieks illuminated from the girls that echoed around the house. Some maids rushed in worriedly to check on them and found the five of them laughing like crazy. When the maids left, they all hugged Miriallia.

"Oh Milly… we're so happy for you!" Shiho said as she hugged Miriallia.

"And I thought he was fast enough…" Natalie said and rolled her eyes as the others laughed.

"Just tell us when you're finally going to say yes!" Cagalli said pensively.

"You know, we were even supposed to throw a surprise party…" Lacus said as the others nodded.

"Surprise party?" Miriallia asked with confusion.

Shiho scratched her head. "Well… honestly… we had a sneak-peek of what you were supposed to reveal… it was like this… the other night, all of us were on four-way calling while finishing our projects… Dearka accidentally sent me a message that was clearly meant for you and so by that, we schemed of throwing a little party." She explained briefly.

Miriallia just laughed. "Really? What did he say?" she asked.

Shiho handed her the cellphone and showed her the message.

_I love you_

Miriallia turned red by the sight of the message. "Oh my god…" was all she managed to say.

Cagalli laughed. "And now the party won't be a surprise anymore!" she said, pretending to sulk.

"But we can still have it!" Lacus said happily.

Miriallia agreed. "So we'll celebrate Dearka's bravery!" she said and they laughed.

Meanwhile, in the Jule mansion, the boys were having the same talk with Dearka over heaps of chips, softdrinks and maximum pig-out time on ice cream.

"Really now Dearka, how did you do it?" Nicol asked curiously, desperately wanting to know.

Dearka laughed. "It was Yzak who showed me the path to righteousness!" he revealed.

Yzak nearly choked on a potato chip. "I did not!" he said.

"Oh yes you did… he was telling me how blind I am about not getting Miriallia's clues!" Dearka said and shoved a handful of chips into his mouth.

"And he was right about that." Kira said and threw a pillow at Dearka.

"So how did you tell her about you-know-what?" Athrun asked, leaning in closer to hear him.

"Well… I just told her simply… with some bits of intros and stuff…" Dearka said, recalling how his breathing passages have been permanently blocked that night.

"You're good…" Athrun commented, deep inside wishing he could do the same.

"You better be as good if you want to get a move on with my sister!" Kira teased and Athrun rolled his eyes. "It's Dearka we're talking about you idiot!" he said and tackled Kira.

Yzak looked as if he's not really interested in the talk and so he just ate all the ice cream he could eat. Then Nicol reminded Yzak of telling about the intercepted message that Shiho got.

Yzak told Dearka and he snapped his fingers as if he was a detective who just figured out a case. "So that's why she didn't reply! And I thought she just liked me…" he said proudly.

anime style backflips and sweatdrops from the other four

"And I thought he was going to say something even more sensible…" Yzak whispered to Nicol and shrugged. "That's what love does…" Nicol told him and laughed.

Then Dearka had this idea of switching the topic to a very bored-slash-watching TV Athrun Zala. "So Athrun… what's the real score about you and Cagalli?" he blurted out.

Kira was surprised he spurted soda over the floor. Yzak was furious. "Damnit, my mom will kill me Yamato!" he said and tackled Kira.

"It's the second time today he got tackled." Nicol muttered to Dearka.

Athrun stuck his tongue out. "I don't want to die in the hands of Kira Yamato!" he said and laughed.

"Oh come on you big killjoy!" Dearka pressed in.

The other four guys were puzzled. "Why are you so intent in knowing what's behind curtain number two Dearka?" Nicol suddenly asked.

The others realized that Dearka must know something fishy that's why he's diverting the topic to Athrun. The latter felt cold sweat trickle down his spine. "I do not like the sound of this…" he said to himself.

Kira eyed Athrun excitedly instead of being mad that this has something to do with his sister. Yzak smirked at Athrun that clearly meant he's toast. Dearka suddenly revealed a notebook from his bag.

Athrun noticed it as the notebook he was trying to find that morning and he didn't expect it to fall into the hands of Dearka Elthman. "Dearka you would return that to me if you don't want me to kill you…" Athrun warned with a glare.

Dearka grinned widely. "Then skin me alive!" he said and flipped the cover.

_One_

_Two_

_Three_

"Woah" Nicol, Yzak and Kira said in unison.

"This is awesome!" Kira said and grabbed the notebook from Dearka. "Since when did you start to draw huh Athrun?" he said.

If his father was scheming of blowing up the world, Athrun practically wanted to be one of the people to be blown up this particular instant. If a genie would come alive, he would wish to vanish and never to reappear again.

"So you used charcoal pencil?" Yzak said and laughed.

"Give me that!" Athrun said and used his coordinator reflexes to snatch the notebook from Kira.

The boys cheered like idiots. "Athrun's in love!" Dearka teased.

"You're dead Dearka!" he said and tackled Dearka.

Dearka wailed in pain as Nicol, Kira and Yzak laughed their asses off. "So, how did you smuggle the notebook?" Nicol asked Dearka.

Still pained by Athrun's wrath, Dearka still managed to answer the question. "Zala was too stupid to leave it on his desk during recess…" he struggled to answer.

"AND YOU'RE EVEN MORE STUPID TO SHOW IT TO THEM!" Athrun said and wrestled Dearka.

The other three laughed like crazy. "You'll answer to Miriallia if you don't let him go Athrun!" Kira said and laughed.

Athrun didn't mind at the moment. What's running in his mind was his dignity stepped on by none other than Dearka Elthman of all people.

"Seriously Athrun, you can have a place at the National Art Museum!" Nicol said and admired the drawing.

"Will you show it to Cagalli?" Kira suddenly asked with enthusiasm.

Shocked, Athrun let go of Dearka and shrugged. "I don't know."

* * *

**ooohh... what did athrun draw? sorry for the minor cliffie! teehee... you'll know what he drew soon! it's a good thing someone already made a move (i'm talking about the boys)... who will go next? just watch out and find out! ja ne! oh and by the way, please be kind enough to review, i need your reactions if i'm going way too fast or what... thanks!**


	20. consequences

**whoa... after ten years! finally... chapter 20 is up! sorry if i took so long... i suffered from "writer's block"! haha! so here it is... enjoy! don't forget to review...**

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed/gseed destiny... i just own my beloved little puppy.**

**On One Way and Another**

**chapter twenty: Consequences**

* * *

When the rest was asleep, Lacus cannot find the way to sleep as well. She took a walk outside, going out into the wide garden of the Clyne Residence. She gripped tighter to her robes; her pajamas didn't give enough protection from the chilly cold of the night. She checked her watch, it was just 11:45pm and her friends were already asleep. Their recognitions will be at quarter to ten the next morning. Lacus walked, contemplating on what happened to everybody.

A smile crossed her face when she recalled how happy Miriallia looked with Dearka, and how sure she was that Dearka was the perfect guy for her friend. Then she thought of Nicol, the way he still showed how much he cared for Natalie though he was turned down for the moment. Next, she thought of Athrun. Even though he and Cagalli were poles and milestones apart, he goes out of his way just to make Cagalli feel that their differences don't matter to him one bit. Then she remembered Yzak and how amazing it was that he's desperately trying to have an attitude adjustment just for Shiho.

She sat on the marble tiles of the fountain centerpiece of their garden and stared up at the large full moon, up in the sky. She sighed.

"Kira…" she whispered.

She was deeply absorbed in thought that she didn't notice Cagalli was awake and was now standing beside her. "Hey" she said softly.

Lacus was alarmed and she tilted her head to Cagalli's direction. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing out here, Cagalli?"

Cagalli smiled and sat down beside her. "Can't sleep," she began. "I've been faking a sleep the whole time, you know…"

The two girls giggled. "Same here…" Lacus shared and laughed even more. Cagalli then turned to her with concern. "Something on your mind, Lacus?" she asked in a very sisterly manner.

Lacus felt the warmth of having a friend to talk to bring happiness to her. Then she wondered if she could really talk to Cagalli about her feelings about Kira, since she's his sister. Or rather, twin sister. Then after a split-second, it seemed as if Cagalli read her mind.

"Kira, is it?" the blond said with a sparkle of fondness in her eyes.

Lacus flushed. She was a bad liar so she didn't even try to fool Cagalli and so, she nodded. Cagalli giggled.

"Go ahead, tell me about it…" Cagalli said, giving Lacus her assurance that she will be listening.

Lacus thumbed the tips of her long locks and moved to thought before speaking. "Well… I've been thinking… Kira said he likes me… well then, what will happen next? I know I'm stupid when it comes to these matters but I just have to be certain I'm not giving my heart to the wrong guy."

Cagalli thought for a while. "I'm not saying that my bro is the wrong guy neither is he the right one for you. For now, all we have to do is wait 'cause I'm telling you, guys have egos that we girls find hard to figure out." The blond said tactfully that it surprised Lacus she understood guys that well.

"No don't get me wrong, I'm not really good at guys and their minds… it's just that… Kira told me those things that I know." Cagalli said and shrugged. Lacus giggled and stretched out her arms.

"I guess I'm getting sleepy now." Lacus said upon remembering their recognitions the next day.

* * *

The next morning, they all went to the recognition ceremonies together and were really excited in being in the honor roll. Cagalli and Lacus, the two who slept really late were dozing off while lining up.

"What has got into the two of you, eh?" Shiho asked, scratching her head irritably.

"Nothing…" Cagalli replied and stifled a big yawn.

"We just slept late, that's all…" Lacus said, resting her head on Natalie's shoulder.

"Hey, Nat! Isn't that your dad?" Miriallia suddenly blurted out, recognizing the man that was in Natalie's family picture.

Natalie nervously turned around only to see that it was indeed her good-for-nothing father and her obviously battered mother sitting beside Miriallia's parents. Rosie was there too, and she looked really pitiful.

"Damn… it was a lot better when they weren't here…" Natalie said coldly and looked away from them.

"Nat… don't say that… they're still your parents…" Shiho coaxed her.

"If only they acted like parents… look, this is one of the most important days of my life and I don't want to cause a riot in here when everybody finds out that I have a Blue Cosmos leader for a father!" Natalie reasoned out.

This time, Cagalli and Lacus were wide-awake and fully aware of what was happening.

"But… you don't have to let it get to you… just act like it's nothing." Cagalli said.

"Cagalli's right. If you panic or act hateful of them, then chances of other people finding out will escalate. Do you understand?" Lacus added with concern.

"I know… damn! If only I had a normal family…" Natalie said with rage.

"Natalie… whatever you do, they're still your family." Miriallia said, trying to make her face the truth.

"And I hate it." Natalie said, obviously holding a grudge nothing can subside.

"We'll talk about this later, we better line up." Shiho said and patted Natalie on the back. "We'll help you get through this."

Unknown to them, someone heard their conversation and that particular person is determined to cause something that no one will like.

Meanwhile, the boys also recognized Natalie's family sitting beside Miriallia's parents. The five of them could already feel the anger creeping up within Natalie, even by just seeing her lining up from a distance with an expression of extreme hate on her face.

"If only we could do something…" Kira said, feeling sympathetic for Natalie.

"Face it, there is nothing we can do other than leaving it all to fate." Yzak said, although in a very cold manner, he speaks of the truth. Indeed, there is nothing a bunch of teenagers can do, especially when you're in high school.

"Yes… we're risking our lives or even her life if we even try." Athrun added, taking Yzak's side. "We can't let a war begin, especially not this time."

"But what can we do? We can't just let him beat the crap out of Natalie and her mom!" Dearka said, not wanting to stay back and watch.

"They are right Dearka. It's a damned if we do-damned if we don't situation now. If we do take the necessary measures, Natalie's dad would be killed and she might as well face the same consequence. But if we don't, things might get worse every waking hour." Nicol explained, carefully thinking things through.

"See… I told you…" Yzak said, putting both his hands in his pockets.

"Oh damn! They're lining up! Let's go!" Dearka said in a panicky manner, realizing they were being left behind.

They rushed in line and waited for their name to be called as they took occasional glances at Natalie and her father and anticipated the worst. The girls are to be called first according to ranking to be followed by the boys. Things are starting to ease a little since much thought were given on their certificates rather than the problem that was Natalie's father.

Meanwhile, unknown to the group, Fllay Alster was assigned to help out with monitoring the occasion's order and she heard all that had been talked about. Still, she is determined to take revenge on them, most especially Lacus Clyne and thought that getting the friends first will take her a step closer in getting Kira Yamato for good. She then thought that alerting the security about having a Blue Cosmos leader in their midst would cause a commotion that can lead to trouble.

As soon as the last three boys were called, Fllay rushed to the head of security and spilled what she just heard. In an instant, a distress alarm went off and everyone was starting to panic.

"Civilians evacuate! Evacuate the facility, now!" the security officer's voice echoed through.

"Students! Do not try to find your family now, go out and save yourselves!" Natarle Badgiruel's voice could be heard from afar.

"What the hell is going on!" Yzak shouted. "Guys, where are you!" he bellowed.

Seeing the uproar, Fllay felt proud of what she had done, unaware of the destruction it may cause, or lives that it may claim. She had a smirk on her face the whole time.

"AAAAAAAAHHH!" came Miriallia's voice and Athrun heard it. He rushed to find her and saw that she was sitting on the ground, her leg wounded.

"What happened?" Athrun asked, helping her to stand up. "Where are the others?" he inquired as Yzak followed suit.

"I don't know… I think I sprained my leg… someone ran over me…" Miriallia said, wincing in pain.

"I'll get her out of here, go find the others." Athrun said to Yzak and carried Miriallia on his back before running off.

"Dammit! Where the hell are they?" Yzak said and ran around, among the panicking people.

Suddenly, something caught his full attention.

Men dressed in black suits came to the area and some, wearing the green ZAFT uniform were infiltrating the facility as well. He saw Natalie's family being dragged by the ZAFT guys as one of the black-clad men advanced to a girl near the front row seats and ran off carrying her.

Seeing the metallic blue hair of the girl, Yzak didn't find it hard to recognize who was being taken away. He ran as fast as he could after the man who was taking an unconscious Natalie with him but instead, a companion of that man shot Yzak and hit him on the arm and it slowed him down.

"NATALIE!" he yelled. He turned around and bumped into Nicol.

"Yzak! You're hurt!" Nicol said, assisting his friend.

"Nicol! A man took Natalie, I saw it! the ZAFT men took her family. She's unconscious and a bastard just shot me and I failed to run after her. I bet those guys are from Blue Cosmos!" Yzak said, not bothered by the pain at that particular moment.

Nicol was shocked at what he heard. "Friggin' bastards…" he said, sprinting off just as Yzak held him back.

"Nicol don't be a fool! Running after her now will only get you killed! There are dangerous people here and we need to get ourselves out!" Yzak said sternly.

Nicol hesitated but instead helped Yzak to get out of the facility. "I can't find the others but hopefully they're together… there's an exit on the right." Nicol said and they hurried off to the said exit.

Good thing Many people managed to get out safely, especially the politicians who had guards protecting them. Suddenly, Nicol's phone rang and he answered it just as the pair walked faster, trying to find their companions.

"Dad!" Nicol said. "Where are you?" he asked nervously.

"We are all safe… your friends parents are safe as well… each one of them… go to the main entrance of the school… the Ishigamis are captured by ZAFT and the daughter is missing! Get here, now!" Nicol's father said.

"Hang in there dad… we'll get there as soon as possible." Nicol said and hung up and they walked across the soccer field which was a ten minute walk to the entrance hall.

As soon as they got there, they found everybody huddled up and a bunch of red coats were standing there. Everyone was shocked to see Yzak wounded on the arm. Ezaria ran off to her son, worried sick.

"Yzak! My son!" she yelled and flung her arms around her son. Seeing him like that, the girls gasped in horror, most especially Shiho. Nicol let go of Yzak to let his mother get his full attention.

"Ugh… mom… you're hurting me…" he said weakly.

Ezaria quickly let go. "Oh, I'm sorry… god! You're covered in blood!" she said and motioned for the guards to take him to the nearest hospital. The guards obliged immediately and as soon as Yzak was gone, silence broke out.

The only adults left among them were Nicol's father and Lacus' father. The rest of their parents went home to relieve the shock caused by the chaos and the teenagers chose to stay behind for a discussion about what just happened.

Nicol sat beside Cagalli, covered in Yzak's blood as well. "Are you okay Nicol?" the blond asked with concern.

Nicol nodded weakly. "They got Natalie." He said wearily.

Cagalli was almost in the brink of tears. "Yes, we knew that. They got the place searched once most of the people were evacuated safely… and they didn't find her." She explained.

"Dad, Yzak saw her being taken away by men clad in black suits…" Nicol said quickly, remembering what Yzak told him a while ago.

"Blue Cosmos… I see… that Ishigami is one of Blue Cosmos' leaders… the daughter might be killed." Lacus' father answered.

"No… it can't be…" Lacus said in a very low voice.

"Why would they kill her?" Miriallia asked worriedly.

"As simple as an accusation that she may have been the one who spilled about her father's agendas is enough for those men to claim her life. This is a serious matter and a very dangerous one." Nicol's father said, looking down.

"Oh no…" Shiho gasped. "So what will happen now Mr. Amarfi?" she asked.

"For now, you kids go home. We shall notify you of anything we have found." Nicol's father answered. "You lads, be kind enough to walk the girls home… and notify your parents of what we have talked about." He continued and motioned for Nicol to follow him.

Goodbyes weren't even mentioned because of the shock and stress brought by what had just happened. At first they were silent, especially Shiho.

"Are you okay girl?" Cagalli asked agitatedly.

"I'm just worried about Natalie… it's her life that's on the line now… and also… I'm just wondering about how Yzak is now…" Shiho answered very sadly.

"I'm sure Yzak will pull through… he's not the type to give in to just one gunshot… don't worry yourself too much…" Dearka said reassuringly.

"Yeah… don't worry, soon we'll all find a way out of this…" Miriallia said hopefully.

"Say Kira, why don't you go ahead and walk Lacus home… I'll go with Shiho…" Cagalli suggested.

"Are you sure Cagalli?" Lacus asked, obviously wanting to go with the two girls.

"Yes… you guys go ahead…" Cagalli replied and Kira now went off with Lacus to the opposite direction of the route they're taking.

"I'll be going with Miriallia… her parents might be worried sick… take care you three…" Dearka said to Athrun, Cagalli and Shiho as he and Miriallia walked rode a public bus.

The other three walked slowly and silently. Shiho was itching to go to where Yzak is now just to make sure that he's fine.

"Cagalli… uhm… can we…" Shiho trailed off, at a loss for words.

As if reading her mind, Cagalli completed the sentence for her. "Go and see Yzak?"

Shiho nodded. Cagalli looked at Athrun inquiringly, just to make sure if it's a good idea. Athrun shrugged and smiled.

"I guess me and Cagalli can go with you to take a look at our dear Zakkie…" he said and chuckled.

Cagalli and Shiho giggled a bit. "Y'know… you'll get you're butt kicked if ever the hothead heard you say that…" Cagalli said.

And so they rode a taxi and proceeded to the city hospital. Once there, they asked the nurse in the front desk of the whereabouts of Yzak Jule's room.

"Room 314" the nurse said and the three of them walked hurriedly to the elevator and onto the third floor.

The moment they reached the room, Shiho knocked nervously and a voice responded, "Come in…".

Apparently, Yzak's mom left for a while and left him alone, watching T.V. with a heavily bandaged arm. The moment Shiho saw him, he ran to him and flung her arms around him tightly.

"Yzak! I was dead-worried about you!" She said and sobbed softly.

Yzak was as shocked as the other two since it was the first time Shiho really did cry because of him. The platinum-haired boy was wide-eyed and couldn't hug her in return since his free arm was bandaged.

Cagalli and Athrun exchanged looks of relief and of being touched by the sweetness of the two. Cagalli sat on the other side of Yzak's bed as Shiho let go of him.

"Hey… good thing you're alive…" she said jokingly.

"You can count on me not to die soon Cagalli…" Yzak answered and glanced at Shiho.

Athrun chuckled to himself. "Next time, if you're trying to get yourself killed… tell Shiho first or she'll be worried sick again…" Athrun remarked as Shiho threw one of Yzak's pillows at Athrun.

Good thing Athrun had coordinator reflexes that helped him to catch it and throw it back to Shiho, only that it hit Yzak squarely on the face by accident.

"Dammit… that hurt, Zala!" he said angrily.

"Whoopsie daisies!" Athrun said and the two girls laughed.

"Both of you are acting like five year olds…" Shiho remarked.

"At least I'm cute…" Athrun said and Cagalli laughed.

"As if… in your dreams, Zala!" the blond-haired girl contrasted.

After a bit more laughing, they stopped when they saw the news being aired on the television. It was about what happened in school earlier that day and as the reporter said, the Ishigamis were locked up in a cell in ZAFT prison and there was neither a clue nor a hint of the whereabouts of Natalie.

"Known to everyone, Blue Cosmos are known to take lives of innocent people… and this young lady is no different. Let's just hope that the government will try their best to save this girl's life." Said the reporter and that finished the newsflash.

The four was silenced. Yzak was clenching his fist very tightly and let his nails dig into his palm. "If only that bastard didn't shoot me then I could have at least helped her!" he said and cursed numerously.

"It's not your fault Yzak… you tried." Athrun said and lowered his head.

"I hope Natalie's okay… she can't be... you know… or can she?" Shiho sadly asked the others.

"No! She can't be dead! Natalie is innocent… she doesn't deserve all these…" Cagalli said, nearly crying and rested her head on Shiho's shoulder.

* * *

Fllay was at her house and she had witnessed the same newsflash on T.V. She can't believe that a life may be ended just because of her selfish desire. She called up Mia and told the latter everything that happened.

"Fllay! Do you know the effects of what you just did! Natalie could be killed and it's all your fault!" Mia said angrily. "When will you stop being such a bitch!" she pressed in.

"I know I'm a dumb bitch and if it weren't for what I did then maybe no one could have been hurt!" Fllay said guiltily. "I didn't know, okay!" she defended herself.

"Yes you did know! You heard their conversation, it concerned Blue Cosmos! Fllay, are you stupid or just out of your mind! Anythign that concerns Blue Cosmos is beyond dangerous! Yzak Jule was even shot… good thing he survived!" Mia said, still angry and was dying to strangle Fllay.

"I'm sorry… if only I could take everything back…" Fllay said and sobbed.

"Well then you can't! It's all your fault… it's either you tell the truth and suffer your share of the consequences or rot there with your evil conscience!" Mia said and slammed the phone and hung up.

Fllay hung up after listening to the dial tone. She went to her bed and started crying her heart out. She can't bear the fact that it was she who caused all of these and she can't even do anything about it. Clearly, the results of people's actions are always destructive… especially if done out of egocentric desires.

* * *

Meanwhile, Natalie's mother was taken to the hospital; she suffered from heart failure and was cleared of the sentence along with Rosie. It was a 50:50 chance if Natalie's mother will survive or not, no one knows if her battered body can still take medications.

As for Natalie's father, he just sat in his prison cell, contemplating very hardly. "My daughter… my wife…" he said in between bawls. "What have I done… I should have known I will be bound to lose the both of you in the end…" he said.

But some things are just unavoidable. No one knows what tomorrow beholds for this particular family. The consequences of some decisions are most likely to cause sorrow and a heavier burden to be carried.

* * *

A light blinded Natalie as she opened her eyes gently. She felt weak, unable to decipher her emotions. It was as if she's numb of everything and she can't even feel. She closed her eyes again and moaned in pain. She then realized that she's bound to something. Then she tried to move her hand again, indeed, she was tied and unable to move. She opened her eyes that were now immune to the light that blinded her a while ago. She looked around; she was in a laboratory, tied in a lab bed. She saw no one in sight.

Questions lingered inside her head.

"_Where am I?"_

"_Why am I here?"_

"_What happened at school?"_

"_Where are my friends?"_

"_What happened to my family?"_

Suddenly, she heard a man's voice. "Boss, the girl is awake."

She closed her eyes as tears flowed out. Then she opened them again and looked up at the man staring down at her this time.

It was fear, hatred and horror that she felt.

"Azrael"

* * *

**A/N: Natalie's life takes a violent turn this time... will she die in the end? wah! just wait and see till the next update! please review and tell me how it was... thank you! ja ne...**

_"Everything we do has its good side and bad side... nothing in this world is ever predictable."_


	21. Clues and Reasons

**On One Way and Another**

**chapter twenty-one: Clues and Reasons**

**disclaimer: i do not own gundam seed nor do i own gundam seed destiny... **

* * *

For the next three days, school was cancelled due to investigations conducted by ZAFT. The weather was even contributing to the gloomy feel of those days by pouring rain showers that annoyed an already irritated Cagalli.

The blond was sitting by her window, typing on her laptop. She was searching every website that may concern the whereabouts of Natalie and of Blue Cosmos and even hacked quite a number of systems now but with no luck. She looked outside the drenched glass of her window and sighed heavily. She checked her cellphone that was left unattended for the rest of the morning.

She found three messages.

_Wer u at? Any news bout Nat? –Miriallia_

_I was bailed out of the damned hospital. Any good news? –Yzak_

_My father's investigating the case. I need to talk to you lot desperately. Meet me later at exactly 4pm at the coffee shop. –Nicol_

Cagalli replied to each message, answering "Yea I'm at home, no news about Nat." for Miriallia and "Gud 4 u. I've got no news now." For Yzak. After re-reading Nicol's message, she rushed out of her room and called out for Kira.

"I'm in the bathroom!" came his response as Cagalli yelled from outside his room.

"Whatever… I'm coming in!" she replied and went in. She heard the rustle of water from inside Kira's bathroom and decided to sit patiently on his messed-up bed.

After five minutes or so, Kira finally went out with a towel wrapped around his waist and drying his hair with another one.

"What brings you here dear sister?" he asked as he walked over to his closet and searched for a pair of jeans and a shirt.

"Did Nicol contact you a while ago? I just read his message." She said, fumbling with Kira's cellphone.

"Yup… I just deleted it… got my inbox full with all Yzak's ranting about killing the guy who shot him…" Kira answered and started putting on his clothes as Cagalli faced the other way.

"So… we're going later?" Cagalli asked. "It's already 3:30." She informed her brother.

"Of course we will… that's why I took a bath!" Kira said. "Now if you don't mind, you should start getting dressed now, it's a long walk to the coffee shop." He reminded his sister.

"Oh… right." Cagalli said and bolted out the door.

* * *

**IN ZAFT**

"Comm. Amarfi…" Leon, one of ZAFT's red coats ran toward Nicol's father. "I've got news for you about the missing girl."

"What is it?" Comm. Amarfi answered, eager to hear about it.

"It is confirmed she is held captive by Blue Cosmos. The bastards are said to have been spying on the recognition held at the school, preparing to take action once something bad happened." Leon said quickly and worriedly.

Nicol's father nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"The whereabouts are yet to be traced but according to some sources, it is located in a country in Earth, Japan as I heard. It's an Asian continent. It still doesn't make sense why the girl was kidnapped instead of her father or her mother. But our men are working on it sir." Leon finished and hoped that his information is useful.

"Thank you very much, Leon. You may go." Comm. Amarfi said and as Leon saluted and walked away, he pulled out his cellphone from his pocket and called his son right away.

The conversation took about less than ten minutes because of Nicol's constant outbursts, cursing or questions and of his father's reprimanding of his curses. After the short conversation, they hung up.

* * *

Fllay twisted and turned on her bed, not knowing whether to tell the truth or just keep it inside. She figured that even if she did tell the truth, it won't do much help about the current situation and might only be the cause of her death, imagining Cagalli and the others pounding her. But her conscience getting the best of her, she decided to phone Miriallia Haww.

"Miriallia?" she asked once the phone was answered.

"Speaking… who's this?" came a cheery reply.

Fllay still can't bring herself to tell the truth and so, being much of a coward as she already is, she hung up the phone.

Miriallia stared blankly at her phone after the caller hung up on her. It left her bewildered for a while but shrugged it off and hurried outside her room.

* * *

Athrun, Kira, Cagalli, Shiho, Lacus and Yzak sat silently in a round table in a cozy café. It was still raining hard and everyone had their jackets on. The place was dimly lit and was meant for anyone who wishes relaxation. Yzak appeared to be sleepy because of the atmosphere but still, no one bothered to speak.

"What's taking them so long…" Lacus muttered. "It's four-twenty."

"I don't like this place… it's too… quiet. It's making the hairs on my arms stand." Kira said and motioned for the waiter. "I'm getting myself something to drink."

The waiter got his order. "Espresso please." Kira said and looked at his friends. "How about you guys?" he asked.

"Iced mocha latte." Shiho said.

"Hot chocolate." Lacus replied.

"Hot green tea please." Athrun said.

"Same as his." Yzak said.

"I'd like a brownie plate." Cagalli said and everyone gave a soft chuckle.

"What?" she asked with a scowl.

"You're always hungry." Shiho said and giggled.

Cagalli smiled sheepishly. "Yes I am… and besides… I can always take a sip from your drinks. It'll save my money." She said.

"Just try…" Athrun said and stuck his tongue out at her.

Suddenly, a drenched Dearka came rushing in and dried his feet on the mat just on the doorstep and took the seat beside Lacus.

"Am I late?" he asked, settling himself.

"No… we're still waiting for Milly and Nicol." Athrun answered, passing Dearka a cup of tea.

Just as Dearka was going to take a sip, Milly arrived along with Nicol. They sat on either side of Yzak and Milly didn't realize she bumped Yzak's injured side of his arm.

"Ow…" Yzak said, biting his lower lip, trying his best not to howl in pain.

Miriallia gasped. "Ohmigosh! Yzak! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to, I was just trying to sit and I didn't know that-"

"I-it's okay… I'm alive…" Yzak said, trying to restrain himself from blowing his top and getting mad.

"So what's the big news Nicol?" Kira asked, diverting everyone's attention to Nicol.

Nicol sighed heavily. "I've got a bunch of news to tell you and I don't think it really helps us get over this present situation. But my father told me they've got more clues coming in." he began as everybody listened attentively.

It took him about less than thirty minutes to explain everything in detail for it is always unavoidable for a series of questions to come up. Nicol had to explain every single detail to his friends, not missing one.

"But you know… this will not be happening unless… someone spilled." Cagalli said in a low voice.

"What do you mean by that?" Miriallia asked.

"See… Nat's father will never have shown up that morning if he knew that this will be happening. For sure, he as well, did not expect a thing like this to take place. So clearly, Blue Cosmos didn't really plan a thing like kidnapping Natalie and bombarding the whole place. But, knowing how quick those filthy retards act, they have people guarding the place just in case ZAFT gets hold of Nat's father." Cagalli said very quickly, explaining to everyone her theory.

All of them blinked and tried to take in everything Cagalli said.

"Go on…" Nicol said.

"So. Neither side, I'm talking about ZAFT and the retards…" Cagalli began.

"The retards are those Blue Cosmos guys, am I right?" Dearka asked.

"Right Dearka…" Cagalli snapped and went on. "As I was saying, neither side was really expecting something like this to happen. ZAFT didn't know that there was a Blue Cosmos leader seated with the audience for if they did know, they would have attacked before the ceremony starts knowing there are a bunch of politicians around! Get the picture? Logically, someone must have told ZAFT about having Natalie's father around and thus, alerting the Blue Cosmos guys roaming around the place in disguise." The blond said and paused for a while to breathe.

"Did you guys get what I just said?" Cagalli inquired since a minute have passed and no one reacted.

"Cagalli… I have to say… you are one heck of a genius." Yzak said, wide-eyed.

"Uh-huh… I've been sittin' around, thinking about it the whole night and it never crossed my mind…" Lacus joined in. "How come you observed all that?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing. I honestly don't know why!" Cagalli shrugged. "It's just that… it's really simple. It's just a case of cause and effect. Nothing much but finding out the reason behind all this!" she explained.

"And now… what we have to do is find out who spilled!" Miriallia said out loud.

"Unless… someone other than us knew about it in a way we didn't think about…" Athrun said, adding a clue.

"You're right. But… who the hell would care? Obviously they'd be too afraid to even say a thing unless… that person has a motive to do something really, really mean." Shiho added.

"If we're thinking about all these, we better start investigating. I'll be going to the crime scene to check out clues… I heard no one ever cleaned it up yet…" Kira said, standing up.

"I'll be going with you." Dearka said and followed Kira as he walked outside the door.

"I'll go with the guys, I brought my camera… we can take images of anything we could be seeing there." Miriallia said and excused herself and ran after the two boys.

After quite a while, all of them went on their way to see what they can do about the current situation

Since Athrun had direct contact to ZAFT files and stuff as influenced by his father's position in the military, he decided to take a peek on the current investigation along with Yzak and Lacus. Shiho and Cagalli along with Nicol went to the Ishigami residence to check on Natalie's mother and nanny and agreed that they shall go to the prison cell of her father just to see how everything was.

* * *

**In a deserted location in Okinawa, Japan…**

"Azrael…" Morton, his right hand man sighed. "You know perfectly well that we should not claim this young girl's life." He said.

Azrael rolled his eyes and drummed his bony fingers irritably on his desk. "And what do you want us to do with her? Keep her or return her to PLANT!" he snapped, his eyebrows furrowing.

"That is not what I meant. She is Ishigami's daughter. Ishigami is a fine man and he has done a lot for Blue Cosmos. Let us spare his daughter. After all, she's not worth a thing! Just a plain coordinator." Morton reasoned, feeling a certain tinge of sympathy for the girl.

"Just a plain coordinator… oh yes… just like her good for nothing father!" Azrael bellowed and stood up, throwing a small vase across the room, hitting the wall and shattering into pieces.

Morton seemed to have held his breath for a split-second and wasn't able to speak. Azrael's eyes narrowed into slits and he eyed Morton with anger and loathing.

"You listen to me Morton and you better listen well. I am the boss around here, get it? Everything will be done exactly my way." He said in a creepy voice but Morton didn't show any sign of fear. "And I know that you know what I do to subordinates who oppose me." He crooned nastily.

"You kill them mercilessly." Morton replied, straightening his tie and heaving a sigh. After a second's worth of silence, he stepped out of Azrael's office.

Once left alone, Azrael pondered on what to do with Natalie Ishigami. He sat back down, trying to regain his concentration as he drummed his fingers on his desk once again. He thought of killing her but then realized that he still do not have sufficient reason to do so. Keeping her is not even worth a dime for he doesn't know what this girl can do or if she is able to do something worthwhile.

He got up from his chair and walked out of his office and into the laboratory to see what has happened to his captive.

He saw the young girl, looking frail and almost lifeless. She's transferred to a room inside the lab that appeared more like a hospital room wherein dextrose was attached to her arm. She looked at Azrael with eyes pleading for mercy but then again showed a great amount of anger and intense hunger for revenge.

"You're lucky Natalie Ishigami… I'm going to keep you alive for another couple of days just to make sure you can be useful… and then I'll find a way to get to you nasty little friends… and then finally… I'm going to eliminate all coordinators in my wake…" he said with a sinister smile, advancing his face to Natalie's. "And that includes you of course… you'll be dying sooner." He said as Natalie grew more and more hateful of him with every breath he takes.

"And the fun part is… before I let you die… you'll be seeing all of them dying… right… before… your… very… eyes…" he said and laughed evilly.

Natalie's eyes twitched and her coordinator reflexes came in handy. Her weakness was quickly replaced with energy, perhaps motivated by the anger she feels at that precise moment and in a blink of an eye, she pounded Azrael's face with her clenched fist and he screamed in pain.

"I will make sure you'll die… Multa Azrael… and you'll be dying in my hands! Mark my words… I swear I'll kill you!" she bellowed with anger and attempted to get off from the bed and kill Azrael head on but was strained back since she was tied down with a leather strap on her legs.

Azrael scrambled onto his feet and looked at Natalie with horror and disgust. "I will make you pay… you will pay." He warned and stormed out of the room.

The guards and the doctors in the lab were horrified to see Azrael in such a malevolent fashion. The paranoid leader jumped to the nearest man to him and punched the man hard on the face.

"Damn it, what have you been # feeding into that bitch's head! She just punched me!" Azrael bellowed and looked down angrily at the man he just punched. "I want you all to strain her, especially her filthy hands so that she will never be able to make any movements at all!" he bellowed and walked out of the laboratory, breaking anything he gets his hands on along the way.

* * *

Things were pretty tense inside the ZAFT Military Headquarters, a bunch of meetings were being held and obviously, the news about the kidnapping and the Blue Cosmos attack automatically circulated around the place and surely everyone knows. It took a while for Athrun, Lacus and Yzak to locate their folks and as bad as their luck is, they have to wait until after two full hours for the High Council's meeting to be adjourned.

And so, the three of them walked to the cafeteria and just waited and waited with heavy hearts and dismayed moods. They sat in a small table in the isolated area of the cafeteria so that they won't be a bother to the soldiers who have better things to do than sitting very far from the food counter.

Yzak got himself a bag of chips just so he can have something to nibble on while trying not to get pissed off by this very boring activity of theirs.

"Yzak… do you mind if I get some?" Lacus asked politely, pertaining to the tasty cheese curls the other coordinator has been munching on.

"Help yourself…" Yzak replied and blinked when he saw that Lacus grabbed a handful and shoved it to her mouth like a very hungry little schoolgirl.

Athrun exchanged a surprised look with Yzak as he himself grabbed a small piece and ate it. "Uh… Lacus? Are you okay?" the blue-haired coordinator asked worriedly.

"Yeah… you seem to be… different." Yzak said, eyeing the girl adjacent to him suspiciously.

Lacus swallowed and sighed, looking sadly at the table and avoiding eye contact with her companions. "I'm worried out of my wits. I don't know what will happen… you guys know how those retards work… what if they're planning to eliminate us once and for all?" she said in a low voice that the other two needed to bend a little to hear her small, sweet voice.

There was a momentary pause and it was clear that the two guys know that Lacus was right. Blue Cosmos have a knack of causing trouble once and an even greater fancy in causing an even greater chaos the second time around.

Athrun pondered on some thoughts he's been housing in his mind for the past days and it appeared clear to him that something was not right. He doesn't even know if he could bring up the topic to his father right then and there for Patrick Zala has a tendency to be impulsive when it comes to these kinds of matters. But still, he has to give it a shot because for sure the council knows more about this than they do.

"What's on your mind, Athrun?" Lacus asked with concern. "You're a bit too quiet." She commented and Yzak looked at him with a 'you-are-so-abnormal' look on his face.

"Huh?" Athrun said with an inquiring look and then realized what he was being asked of. "Oh… nothing… I'm just thinking of what my father could possibly say." He replied and forced a smile.

Lacus was a bit nervous. "You've got a point…" she said.

"Fear all you want guys… no one can stand my dear mother… she almost killed me in the hospital." Yzak said, finishing the remains of his chips.

Athrun chuckled. "Even I fear your mother…" he said.

Lacus giggled. "Aunt Ezaria's pretty nice." She said and looked at the two boys.

Athrun smiled weakly and Yzak's eyes grew wide. "You're an alien Lacus… really…" the silver-haired coordinator said.

* * *

Back in the school gymnasium, Kira and Dearka roamed around the place just to check some items that could have been left behind. Miriallia was doing the same as well, concentrating very hard on the spot where Yzak was shot. Since the location was still a crime scene, Yzak's blood was not yet cleaned up. Suddenly, not very far from that spot, she saw something glisten under the light. She walked slowly towards it and found something she didn't find hard to recognize.

"Kira! Dearka! Come see this…" she said loudly, taking a snapshot of it before picking it up using a tong and putting it inside a transparent Ziploc, just like how it was done in TV. Kira told her to do that when she found something so that it can be tested with biometrics.

"What's that?" Kira asked as he and Dearka looked at it very closely.

Miriallia held it up for them to see clearly. "Does this look familiar to you?" she asked them.

"Natalie's necklace!" Dearka exclaimed. "The one Nicol gave her!" he said in surprise.

"Whoa…" Kira said, getting the necklace from Miriallia. "This is still in a good condition… only the lock got broken." He said, seeing it through the transparent plastic.

"Maybe it fell when she got dragged…" Miriallia said sadly. "Do you think this can be scanned for a clue?" she asked eagerly.

"Of course it can be… hopefully her captive touched it and left a mark…" Dearka added and looked at Kira and Miriallia's weary faces.

"We should keep this silent for a while." Kira said and expected his friends to ask why. "We're not sure if we can trust all the guys in ZAFT or in other lab testing affiliates of theirs. We better not take the risk." He said as a matter of factly.

"Then how do we check this out?" Miriallia asked, puzzled.

"Kira… am I thinking what you're thinking?" Dearka asked, as if seeing through Kira's head.

Kira smiled. "I think you pretty much are, Dearka…" he replied and stared at him, waiting for further reactions.

"So when do we do it?" the tanned coordinator asked.

"We'll get to that once the others know." The brunette replied and sighed.

"Wait a sec… just so you two would know, I did not get anything you we're talking about!" Miriallia retorted crossly.

"We'll get this checked by sneaking inside a public lab… so there will be lower chances of getting caught and ending up in jail." Kira explained and smiled. "You get it now Milly?" he asked.

Miriallia smiled and nodded. "Yup… and I must say though I disapprove of that… you've got a bright mind Kira." She commented.

The three of them left quickly and decided to wait for the others get their tasks done for a meeting at the Hibiki residence.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cagalli and Shiho were waiting for Nicol as he makes an arrangement to chat up Natalie's father. It took a while before the person in-charge permitted them considering the fact that they are minors. The two girls took the opportunity to sit down and talk about the conversation the three of them had with Rosie and Mrs. Ishigami.

"_Natalie is a very kind girl… I'm sure you girls know that… and she hated her father for he had views that are the exact opposite of hers, and he hated his daughter as well for the very same reason." _Cagalli recalled Mrs. Ishigami's simple statement.

"The father and daughter never really had a good relationship…" Shiho said sadly, thinking about what Natalie could have been through all the years she spent with her father. "I'm very sure Nat found it very hard to cope knowing what her father is up to… and dealing with his abusive ways." Shiho said, thumbing through the tips of her long hair.

"And what's worse is her mother almost giving up." Cagalli said and forced a weak smile. "It's a good thing Rosie is very dedicated to her job… their lives are in grave danger… I fear for the worse." The blond girl said in a low and concerned voice.

"Let's just hope nothing more of that cruelty be inflicted to Mrs. Ishigami and Rosie… and let's hope that everything will be alright in the end…" Shiho said, the two of them holding each other's hand, hoping that Nicol would be back with good news.

After three minutes or so, Nicol came running towards them. "He's going to let us in." he said with a sigh of relief.

"Thank god…" Cagalli said and the three of them rushed to the elevator, their destination is to the fifth floor.

The three of them looked utterly nervous in meeting Mr. Ishigami and talking to him about these sorts of things at a much unexpected time. Once there, a guard assisted them and led them to a room wherein they can talk in private with Mr. Ishigami but by being separated by a glass barrier, just like any other facility for criminals.

They waited for quite a while and Mr. Ishigami showed up. He was wearing the prescribed blue uniform for prisoners and he wasn't wearing his usual arrogance and sneer in his face. He looked glum and tired and he appeared to have lost weight since the last time they saw him, even though it wasn't very long ago. They exchanged sad looks and the two girls urged Nicol to feel free to talk to the man.

Once seated, the guard exited through the door from which he came in with Natalie's father. Mr. Ishigami looked at the three of them with uncertainty.

"Sir… we are not here to cause trouble… we just want to ask some questions…" Nicol asked politely, but not smiling.

"What is there left to answer… it's all my fault my daughter's life is at risk… I should be the one being hunted down or being killed… I know it already! You do not have to tell it to my face!" he said, though loudly, he was still as weak and weary from all of it.

Nicol looked at the two girls behind him. Cagalli spoke kindly this time.

"Sir… we are not here to do that. We are here to help. We need all the help we can get to retrieve Natalie." She said softly, tears threatening to stream down her face.

"We do not care if we ourselves could be in danger… your daughter is a dear friend to us and we are hoping as her father, you can give her a place in your heart and help her." Shiho said pleadingly, her eyes begging for Mr. Ishigami's kindness.

Nicol just lowered down his head and kept silent.

Mr. Ishigami was utterly surprised of their statements and there was a momentary silence before he spoke again. "I am the worst father you could imagine… I never showed concern nor love for my family… I've done so many things and I'm paying for it now… I do hope I can be of assistance to you…" he said, this time, Nicol was looking at the man in front of him directly in the eye, awaiting the continuation of what he is saying.

"I was an ally of the blue cosmos since I am a natural… my wife was the coordinator and it was from her where Natalie got her genes. Multa Azrael blackmailed me and brainwashed me… and that was what drove me to go and side with him… and I must say it was the biggest mistake I have ever done in my life." He said, tears falling down from his ebony eyes. "I do not hold much new and useful information but this might help. The only remaining headquarters of the Blue Cosmos is located in Okinawa, Japan… in planet Earth." He said, this time turning serious.

"I am entrusting you this responsibility and I know you can get her back. Go to our house and tell my wife what I told you so she'll permit you to search my library." He said and then turned to Nicol. "You will have to bring down the door, it's always locked." He said and Nicol nodded. "Go and find my olive green briefcase located in the top drawer of the cabinet beside the bookshelf. There you will find all the information you need. That is all I can do to help. I hope you can save my daughter with what I have given you… it will mean so much to me to know she's alive…" he finished and the three of them nodded.

"You can count on us Mr. Ishigami…" Shiho said for certain.

"We will do everything we can… and thank you very much for cooperating with us." Cagalli said firmly, her eyes never leaving Mr. Ishigami.

"Thank you sir… we'll be going now… we shall inform you of any information we get. God bless you." Nicol said just as the guard came in, it was time for them to go.

Mr. Ishigami's gaze followed them as they went out. His heart melted and deep inside, he loved his daughter very much and he was praying very hard that she will be saved.

* * *

**A/N: yeah... you can kill me now... i know it's pretty crappy and i failed to put in some special moments between the pairings but then... i stand by what i wrote... cause it'll be absurd to put in romantic moments amidst confusion and thorough investigations, right? haha! so sorry for that... don't worry, i'm almost done with chapter 22 and there are moments there... finally you'll know what athrun drew! till then... ja ne!**


	22. Reminiscence

**On One Way and Another**

**Chapter 22: Reminiscence**

* * *

It was then agreed upon that the nine of them will be sleeping over at the Hibiki's place just so they could discuss any further plans they might cook up to save Natalie. The twins' mom will be going home late and so they camped out at Kira's room for a while just to discuss everything they knew that day. It was a pretty rainy night as well and they had their jackets on and turned the air conditioning off. They let it be that dinner can wait until nine for they have a ton of things to discuss.

They sat on the floor in a circle and started discussing things about what they have investigated. Kira, Miriallia and Dearka chose to say what they have recovered after Nicol have finished. All the others were listening intently as Nicol along with Shiho and Cagalli narrate about their conversation with Mr. Ishigami.

"Sorry… I just can't help but cry… family stories are just so touching." Lacus said, wiping her small tears with the back of her hand and forcing a feeble attempt to smile.

"So when do you guys plan to go to the Ishigami residence?" Dearka asked, trying to switch the whole sad family story to the very reason why they agreed about this so-called sleepover meeting.

"We'll get to that when everyone shared the accounts that have been found, I guess…" Nicol said and shrugged, trying his best not to think of his personal feelings about Natalie or else, he would have lost his concentration and more over, he may lose his mind.

"We went to ZAFT… and we talked to my father and to Aunt Ezaria and Uncle Siegel." Athrun said, clearing his throat to start explaining, looking at Yzak and Lacus who simply nodded in agreement. "They said that they are doing everything in their power to prevent Natalie from being killed and also to recover her… but with no luck, they don't have a clue about what's happening in Japan." Athrun said with a sad and disappointed look.

"And they requested us to tell you guys that they are asking us to stop meddling with this case… they think we're just risking more lives and risking the whole PLANT to further attacks." Yzak added regretfully. He himself hated the fact that his own mother was the one who told them that they are too young to even save Natalie.

"But call me a rebel… I don't want to sit back and watch them do all the work when we know more than they do." Lacus said firmly, her eyes reflecting her determination to do everything just to save a friend.

Kira smiled. "Gee… I didn't know you had it in you…" he said and looked at Lacus cheerfully.

Lacus returned his smile with a nod. "This time, I know that we can make a far greater difference than any of those guys in the military."

"So what did you guys find out?" Cagalli asked Kira suddenly, eager to know their next move.

Kira looked at Dearka and Miriallia who gave him a reassuring nod to start explaining. Kira dug a hand inside his jacket's pocket and brought out Natalie's necklace inside the transparent Ziploc bag. Everyone was wide-eyed and shocked and Nicol was very much so.

Nicol recalled the night he gave it to her and it caused his heart so much pain that he can't decipher. "It's the necklace I gave her…" he mumbled.

"I found it… I was taking a picture of Yzak's blood on the floor 'cause I thought that same spot could be a clue… and not very far from it I saw something glisten and there it was, her necklace." Miriallia explained, recalling exactly how she found the beautiful jewelry.

"The lock is broken and we think it's because of the force inflicted on her when she got dragged." Dearka added, looking at Nicol who was staring at the necklace that Kira handed him.

"We thought we could get a clue on the identity of her captor… but we can only do that if this gets scanned by biometrics…" Kira said, starting about what he and Dearka agreed upon earlier. "We figured it would be too risky if we go and show this to ZAFT, we don't know whom we can trust…" Kira finished.

"And so we planned to just check this by ourselves..." Dearka told them.

Yzak blinked. "And how do we do that?" thinking that the idea was absurd.

"Instead of taking this to a government laboratory, we can take this to a public scan lab just downtown… risks of getting caught of even losing the evidence will certainly be lessened." Miriallia said, siding with their idea.

"Oh! I know somewhere that we can go! For sure… we will never get caught." Shiho said, lighting up a little.

"Where?" they all asked her fervently.

"My little brother knows… he can show us… I think we should go and sneak in at night… but not now, we should first get the stuff Mr. Ishigami said that we have to recover." Shiho answered, thinking about calling Ryojin that very moment but hesitated.

"Good. Then we better move! I'm calling Mrs. Ishigami just so we don't drop by unexpected… that would be so rude…" Cagalli said and the others nodded and so, she stood up and walked over to the phone resting on top of Kira's bedside table.

While phoning Natalie's mother, asking for an appointment early the next morning, their cellphones rang and it was all a message from Mr. La Flaga, their class adviser.

"Hey guys, school's cancelled for another week… ZAFT wants to see Nat's records…" Dearka said, his voice cracking when he spoke about ZAFT and Natalie's records.

Athrun gulped. "Now what do they want? Are they thinking that it was Natalie's fault all this had happened?" he said irritably, cursing under his breath. "We can't just let them do whatever they want… as far as I'm concerned, it's not a very far chance that they'll drop the case of saving Nat just so no one in ZAFT or in the High Council gets tangled up…" he said, pertaining to the ones who decided on this.

"Or maybe…" Yzak suddenly said, standing up and feeling his bandaged arm. "Someone from ZAFT doesn't want Natalie back… and he has to make sure of it." the silver-haired coordinator said sternly.

"Where are you getting at?" Lacus asked curiously. "I mean… who would be doing that?" she said, obviously finding it hard to think of someone who would want Natalie killed.

"A Blue Cosmos man in disguise… that's what we have to know…" Yzak said, looking at all of them just as Cagalli hung up to join them once again.

"Are you thinking that the man we have to find is in the High Council?" Cagalli asked, thinking that the stakes are higher that the guy is in ZAFT.

"In ZAFT of course… no one gets close to the High Council rather than the generals…" Yzak answered, putting his hands inside his pockets.

"Wait a sec… I don't think it's one of the generals… or a member of the High Council." Shiho said, shaking her head and patching up some theory. "Generals do not have that direct access to information about Blue Cosmos… they can't even move freely with the tension about Gen. Mackenzie taking over Athrun's dad." Shiho said, snapping her fingers.

"So you're saying that it has to be someone in a lower position?" Nicol asked, diverting his attention from the necklace and back to their discussion.

Shiho nodded. "Precisely."

"You've got a point there… but who? That would be very hard to trace, mind you guys…" Lacus asked, scratching her head.

"That's another thing we have to investigate about, I guess." Kira answered and shrugged. "Say, why not delegate duties to one another so we can save up time? We only got a week or we'll have no choice but to get our butts back to school." The ultimate coordinator reminded them.

"Kira's right… so… who goes to Nat's house and who scans this evidence?" Nicol said, holding up the necklace and waiting for responses.

"Let's draw lots, I guess…" Miriallia suggested, getting a piece of paper and jotting down two destinations in nine pieces of paper.

After a while of shaking it up, they all drew a piece and read it aloud.

"I'm one of the 'lab infiltration'?" Kira asked Miriallia, thinking that it sounded very military. "Isn't this used for highly serious kinds of stuff in movies?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Miriallia ignored him and read what she drew. "Nat's place."

"Lab" Dearka butted in, crumpling the paper.

"House." Lacus said and shrugged.

"Lab" Yzak said, thinking if he could handle it with a wounded arm.

"House" Shiho said, pocketing the paper after reading it.

"House" Athrun said, looking across at Nicol who just opened his.

"Lab" Cagalli said, feeling excited of something more like this.

"House." Nicol said finally and sighed. "So… Athrun, Milly, Lacus, Shiho and I will go to Nat's place and try to figure out the missing pieces of this puzzle while you guys sneak inside a lab downtown…" the green-haired lad said, recalling his companions.

"I'll be asking Ryojin to give you guys the map… that kid has info…" Shiho said, smiling and thinking if Ryojin will really cooperate this time.

"Woot. So I'm the only girl with three escorts…" Cagalli said, looking from Kira to Dearka and to Yzak.

"That's okay… surely you can handle it… tomboy…" Yzak muttered, smirking at Cagalli.

"Why you little creep!" Cagalli said and was about to punch Yzak when he wailed in pain just as she grabbed his wounded arm.

"I was just kidding!" Yzak shouted and yanked his arm off Cagalli's grip. "I'm sorry! I was just kidding!" he said again.

"Whoa… that must've hurt…" Athrun said, his left eye twitching as if he felt Yzak's pain.

"It's his fault in the first place…" Shiho said to Athrun and just giggled. "And besides, Yzak wails like a girl…" she whispered and Athrun laughed out loud.

"Now what's so funny?" Yzak snapped grumpily at the laughing pair.

"You wail like a girl." Shiho said and winked at Cagalli who laughed as loud as Athrun.

Nicol snorted and smiled. He then realized that it had been a couple of days since they last had a laugh and it's a good thing that amidst these trials they're facing, they still find time to lighten up. As Lacus once said before, sulking and giving in won't do anyone any good, and she was right.

"Shiho, do you want to meet Yzak's teddy bear? I believe he still has it… and his pink apron, the one he used in baking the cookies for show-and-tell way back in kindergarten!" Nicol said, sneering at Yzak who was turning scarlet and wanting to explode that very moment.

"Oooh… you never told me you fancy pink!" Lacus said that was more of as a compliment rather than a joke.

"Oh my god… you like teddies?" Miriallia said, trying to stop giggling and rolling at the floor.

"WILL YOU ALL SHUT THE HELL UP AND STOP PESTERING ME! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS AMARFI! YOU ARE SO DEAD… DEAD I SAY, DEAD!" Yzak yelled and chased Nicol around the room.

The two guys chased each other as the rest laughed. They looked like two cats moving very fast, one trying to catch the other. At first Yzak was really really mad but now, as he attempted to beat the crap out of Nicol, the two of them ended up laughing their butts off.

"And by the way, did you guys know that Nicol wore diapers until second grade?" Yzak shot back with an evil smirk on his face as Nicol stopped laughing and turned very pale. "And he even cried one time when his mommy forgot to pack his feeding bottle inside his lunchbox in first grade!" Yzak said and everyone laughed like hell, more than the way they laughed at Yzak.

"Oh gosh… I never thought you guys had so much embarrassing moments!" Cagalli said, still laughing so hard. "Did you know that Kira had wet dreams until fifth grade?" the blond spilled suddenly about her twin.

Kira was about to go to seed mode when Dearka interrupted. "Dude… you wet your bed until fifth grade? Did you run to your mom?" he asked and laughed out loud as Kira screamed.

"I'll get you Cagalli…" he warned and just joined in the laughter. "And by the way, did you guys know that Athrun left his fly open the first time he walked up to a girl back in third grade?" Kira said, eyeing his best friend kindly as if what he said was more of a praise.

Athrun looked down, fell silent and turned bright red. "Oooohh…" the girls said in unison as the boys laughed.

"What a naughty boy you are Zala…" Miriallia and Shiho said in unison as Lacus restrained herself from laughing like a maniac.

"And due to major embarrassment, he peed on his pants right on the spot!" Kira said proudly as Athrun tackled him. "Shut your mouth or I'll kill you!" he warned Kira.

"Gross! You never even bothered to run to the nearest bathroom!" Cagalli said. "I wish I saw that…" she said and Athrun felt like popping out of thin air or jumping right outside the window.

"And what has Dearka got to make us proud?" Miriallia asked suddenly.

"Dearka… he had to play snow white back in fourth grade… and everybody said he should've just played the wicked stepmother!" Yzak said, recalling how Dearka sang and danced while wearing a gown with them as the dwarves.

"His mom was so proud!" Athrun added and laughed out loud.

As they were laughing about the boys' embarrassing experiences, the Hibikis' nanny called out from Kira's bedroom door.

"Sir Kira? Miss Cagalli? Your mother is here…" she said after a couple of knocks.

They all went down as the nanny gone off. They greeted Cagalli and Kira's mom and she returned their greeting warmly. She ordered to fix Cagalli's ultimately messy room so that the girls will have room to sleep in while she was pretty confident that the boys will have no problem with Kira's moderately messy room. They ate together at eight and discussed some of the findings about Natalie's situation with Mrs. Hibiki and all of them felt that she knew exactly how they felt about the fact that a friend of theirs was in danger, although they never told Mrs. Hibiki of their plans. They decided to call it a night at nine and Mrs. Hibiki retired to her room just as the youngsters went back to Kira's room to furtherly discuss the matter. They then agreed to do the sneaking in at the lab this very night and so Shiho phoned her brother and asked him to draw a map and jot down some pointers in sneaking in inside the said laboratory. Ryojin faxed it to them and in moments, it appeared as if they're ready to go.

Cagalli stood beside Kira, Dearka and Yzak. "So… we'll see you guys… we'll stay up and wait for you." Lacus said to them. "You boys take care of Cagalli." She said, clinging to Cagalli's arm nervously.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Cagalli replied and smiled at Lacus and the others reassuringly.

Kira said his goodbyes to Lacus and so did Dearka to Miriallia. Yzak was talking to Nicol and Athrun as Shiho and Cagalli hugged each other.

"You'll be okay… right?" Shiho asked Cagalli. "I don't want my best friend getting hurt…" she said.

"Awww Shiho! I'll be fine… I've got these guys backing me up! No one will catch us… trust your bro…" Cagalli said and smiled inwardly and whispered to Shiho's ear, "Well, aren't you going to say goodbye to Yzak?" she said jokingly.

Shiho scowled. "Very funny." She just replied and didn't even bother to walk up to Yzak.

Suddenly, Athrun tapped Cagalli at the shoulder and Shiho giggled. "See ya Cagalli… she said and walked toward Nicol and Yzak as they talked about further plans.

Cagalli faced Athrun timidly. "So… don't tell me you're gonna cry…" she ridiculed Athrun.

Athrun just smiled and stuck his tongue out. "As if…" he said and sighed. "I just want to give you this." he said, handing her a folded piece of paper. "Just open it when you feel like it, but don't look at it now. Take care, okay?" he said simply but deep down, he knows that she feels how much he cares for her.

Cagalli nodded. "Don't worry, we'll be fine… we're the ones who'll be doing the spy job!" she said and chuckled. "Don't miss me!" she said jokingly.

Athrun snorted. "In your dreams…" he said and they laughed, exchanging a high five. Suddenly, the two of then were taken aback when they saw Milly and Dearka as well as Kira and Lacus exchange hugs.

"Awww… that has got to be the sweetest thing!" Cagalli said dreamily as Athrun rolled his eyes. "Then join in, make it a group hug!" he said and chuckled as Cagalli nudged him hard on the ribs. "Shut up Zala!" she snapped.

Nicol went off to talk to Cagalli this time, leaving Yzak and Shiho to talk to themselves. At first the two of them just stared at their feet until Shiho spoke.

"So… aren't you going to take your dear teddy with you? Or you need a pink apron?" Shiho said, playfully punching Yzak's wounded arm, but knew better than to really let her fist go in contact with his hurting arm. She giggled as Yzak took a step back, as if evading the already fake attack. "Scaredey-cat…" she chuckled to herself.

Yzak scowled and glared at her. "In your dreams will I ever lay my eyes on that ruddy teddy bear or that pink apron my mother made me wear." He snapped angrily but Shiho just laughed at him.

"Fine… just don't get yourself caught or there's a chance you'll go longing for your teddy." She pressed in, looking Yzak directly in the eye with sarcasm and cockiness she rarely showed.

Yzak felt uneasy. She was one of the few people who had the guts to look straight into his eyes and do not crumble in fear that he might snap or shout at her. It's as if Shiho was the only person who could block his own sarcasm other than his own mother. "If you don't stop that… I'll go and tell everyone that you looked like a pig way back in prep school." He said, smirking with a feeling of triumph.

Shiho blushed madly and cursed under her breath. "Who the hell told you that?" she asked, demanding for an answer. "Ryojin did! I knew it… that pesky brat…" she mumbled crossly.

Yzak shrugged. "I'll be going ahead… miss-piggy-turned-thin!" he labeled her and chuckled to himself.

Just then, Kira let go of his tight embrace around Lacus and pinched her cheek playfully before flashing a kind and handsome smile. "Don't worry about me… we'll be back at the crack of dawn…" he said and winked. "It's not like we're going to die." He joked.

Lacus' eyebrows furrowed. "That's not a funny joke Kira…" she scolded the brunette who just chuckled at her remark. "You'll be careful out there…" she said and smiled finally.

"'Course I would… the great Kira Yamato won't die in the hands of some retards, would he?" he said and Lacus laughed. "You're insane Yamato." She replied.

As for Dearka and Miriallia, they were just as sweet as Kira and Lacus, hugging and stuff, but theirs were a little different. Miriallia kept pushing Dearka back from time to time, feeling uneasy.

"Why?" Dearka asked, chuckling to himself.

"It's not like you're going to die, are you?" she spat back covering her expression with irritation when deep down, Dearka can feel she's just a little shy about the fact that only Kira and Lacus were the ones hugging aside from them. But it's not their fault that the other two pairs weren't as expressive and Nicol is still too down thinking of Natalie.

"Alright then… but I'll commit suicide." Dearka said, planning something to blackmail Miriallia.

"Huh?" a puzzled reply came from the girl standing in front of the tanned boy.

"Just promise me one thing… you'll be my girlfriend if I don't get caught!" he said playfully, not knowing if Miriallia will take it seriously.

Miriallia blinked a couple of times before answering. "Dearka Elthman…" she said, glaring at him.

"Just kidding!" he quickly took it back and covered up with a laugh.

Miriallia smiled this time, relieved that he was just kidding at the moment but swore to herself to think it over the moment he leaves. She was sure that somewhere within that statement Dearka cracked was a serious question that needed some answers.

"Guys we should leave… now!" Yzak shouted, glaring at Shiho who was also glaring at him. The others got the perception that the two of them ended up fighting over something.

"Yeah you better go… before this bed devours me…" Cagalli said and yawned as she stretched her arms. "goodbye Zala…" she said in the way she did that night when they did their project and she needed to shove him out of the premises of their household. Athrun smiled and just nodded and snapped a "goodbye Attha" back at her.

After a few moments, they left the room through the windows of Kira's bedroom just so the guards won't catch them escaping out of the house. Kira was the first one to go down, followed by Dearka and Yzak and lastly, Cagalli, who was actually quite of an acrophobic. She loosened her grip when she was halfway down the rope and it was a good thing Dearka was standing just under the rope, ignoring the fact that Cagalli was going down.

THUD!

Good thing Yzak was quick enough to bend down and cover Dearka's mouth or else, they would have wakened up the whole household. Cagalli got up and took Kira's helping hand and glanced up where all their other friends were looking down at them with worry and concern. The blond girl waved at them and mouthed a "we're okay!" to them and the others smiled in relief.

The four of them started to walk away as the five left in the room locked the door and sat on Kira's bed. Athrun as sitting at the bed's end, playing with Kira's basketball while contemplating on his personal thoughts. Nicol was lying on the bed beside Lacus who was sitting uneasily, fidgeting continuously. Shiho sat by the window, staring at her wristwatch as if trying to kill time. Miriallia sat by the television set wherein a soft bean bag lies and she allowed it to envelope her just so she'll feel comfortable as she thinks about Natalie and how badly she misses her, just like everyone else.

* * *

Natalie basked under a faint sunlight creeping through the glass windows of her dimly lit room and tried not to ponder on her solitude. The man called Morton secretly freed her arms from the leather straps that bound it with the bed. Scars were left on her wrists but she can't feel a thing. She was about to be lost in thought the moment she recalled she had lost one of her most precious possessions, the necklace Nicol gave her. Silent tears flowed from her beautiful eyes. She missed the one boy she ever learned to care for and to cherish dearly. She missed Nicol Amarfi. She touched her chest, as if trying to feel the presence of the necklace but it wasn't there. She looked at the friendship bracelet she still had around her right wrist, Cagalli and Shiho gave her one each. How she missed the two girls. She thought about Miriallia and Dearka, how much she must've missed what was happening between them. She thought about Kira and Lacus and how cute they looked when they are together. She also missed the epitome of arrogance that is Yzak Jule and she even thought she heard his voice just when she lost her consciousness. And she also missed her dear friend, Athrun, who was always there alongside the others to brighten up her day with encouragement and support. She longed to be back to their school, to sit on the stone steps of the school's entrance and just fool around with her friends. She missed her mother dearly, and Rosie. She longed to be back home, sitting by her sick mother's bed, telling her about her day as Rosie laughed whenever Natalie missed out on a detail. The pain in her heart just won't subside. She felt so alone, so unsure of what will become of her. And she can't help but blame the very person that has caused her this much misery.

"It's your entire fault dad… you're the one who gave me to them!" she said, loud enough to echo from the walls of her room. This time, she really did cry. She recalled the time when she was still very young, back when she can still hold on to her father's hand. The way he reassured her that the scab on her knee will melt away. She missed her father dearly as well. "Dad… why did you have to go and change… why?" she asked no one in particular.

Just then, something interrupted her thoughts. Someone knocked on her door which was very polite for a change and she knew it was Morton. He was the only man who ever talked to her in a low tone rather than the usual screams she gets from Azrael every time he goes there. Morton looked at her, her face streaked with tears and he just can't help but feel sorry for the poor girl.

"You know what… you remind me of my daughter." Morton said, taking a step closer to Natalie's bed.

Natalie eyed him curiously. "You have a daughter?" she asked as if she didn't hear what he just said.

Morton simply nodded. "Yes, I do have a daughter… her name's Lisette. Both of you have this certain resemblance and you remind me of her." He answered, sitting at the end of her bed.

Natalie tilted her head on the side. "Then where is she?" the young girl asked the man.

"Well…" Morton began and sighed. "She died, just a year ago. Her mother was long dead and now, I'm left alone." The man who was about in his mid-forties explained casually.

"I'm sorry." Natalie said, bowing her head in apology.

"Don't be. Actually, she died after suffering the same fate as you're having now… only that it was Azrael who shot her in the head… right before my eyes." Morton said, moving towards the widow and opening it so that some fresh air would come in and he turned of the aircon. "He killed Lisette because back then, I was against him… just like the other guys… but he threatened me that he'll wipe out the whole PLANT if I don't side with him…" he continued to explain as Natalie listened intently. "He thought I could be a valuable ally… I am one of the scientists who're developing the so-called mobile suit along with morgenroete. I'm very sure you have heard of it." he said with a weary smile.

Natalie nodded feebly. "So are you helping him now? What about what happened to your daughter?" she asked softly.

"I'm not helping him… though he thinks I am… but now you've got to listen to what I have to say. I have convinced Azrael to put you under my care and jurisdiction and now all you have to do is to trust me. I do not want you to suffer as much as my Lisette have done. I will help you get out here, alive. Do you understand?" he said, lowering his voice in a whisper only loud enough to let Natalie hear.

Natalie looked at him, unsure of what to say. But then she saw the sadness and the sincerity in the man's eye. "I'm old Natalie Ishigami. You have a life ahead of you. Let me just try to save you the way I never got to save my own daughter. Can I count on your cooperation?" he said, seeing the doubtful look in her eye.

Natalie sighed and nodded gently. "For the sake of your daughter's memory...I will put my trust in you." She replied.

* * *

**A/N: ahw... that's it... chapter twenty-two... whew... school's starting so i guess i'll be updating next weekend... wish me luck... i'll be in my senior year in high school! and i bet it's gonna be hell... haha! lol... okay... so i guess i should tell you, natalie won't die... but someone will die and i'm not telling you! watch out for chapter 23...don't forget to review! ja ne...**


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